January Virgo of the Month: Paulo Coelho

My first entry for my newest blog topic: *Virgo of the Month!* I've been thinking about doing this each month for a while and now that its a new year, its the perfect time to start this new Mama Virgo blog tradition. I decided the world famous best seller Brazilian *Virgo* author, Paulo Coelho, should have the honor of being my first *Virgo of the Month* because he's a writer, which is a major Virgo quality and is something Virgo's are well-known for. Paulo's birthday is August 24th 1947. He recently released his new 2011 agenda titled Wisdom, which I of course had to get and love it! I write in it everyday. Side note: I just realized he was a Virgo last week, don't ask why it took me so long to notice that, I should of informed myself of his star sign years ago. It makes total sense that he's a Virgo and gives him huge bonus points in my book ;)

I was first introduced to Paulo's work in 2005. My son's father gave me a copy of one of Paulo's best sellers, The Alchemist for my birthday because I had previously kept borrowing his copy of it and read it constantly.   That book truly altered my way of thinking and had a profound impact on me. For those of you who have read it, or any of his other books, you know what I mean. Personally, his words make more sense to me than the bible (not to get offensive towards Christianity, I myself am). Since then I've read Brida, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, and The Witch of Portobello.  I'm no where near done reading the rest of his books but they're all SO GOOD! Every book is like entering a world of characters that are more interesting than real friends (I'm an oddball, I know). Every time I read one of his books, I'd either highlight every other sentence or write down in a note book all my favorite parts (I did this with most of the books because I borrowed them from the library and couldn't highlight)--his work is that good. Just knowing that I have sections of his books written down in my notebook makes me feel better about life because when I'm feeling down I can just go back and read them. When I'm down is when I turn to Paulo's words for comfort. I don't want to make this blog in to a book review so I'm not going in depth about the contents of his books.

If I had the opportunity to meet anyone famous in the world, and I mean ANYONE, it would be Paulo Coelho, no question or hesitation or need to even consider someone else. Not even Marshall Mathers over Paulo Coelho, and I'm a MAJOR Eminem fan (Sorry Em). I follow Paulo on Facebook, Twitter, his website and his blog. Every thing he writes is golden. Everything he says about life's challenges and everyday issues is like the most spiritually awaken words ever written. No matter what your issue is, Paulo has an explanation for it, and how to deal with it. His words are so universal. I can't comprehend how someone like him exists peacefully in a world like this. Call me crazy but I think he's magical. When I logged in to Facebook today I saw that he added another blog entry titled "Parents and Children," a topic I'm all too familiar with. After reading it, I started writing this blog entry. In that entry he talks about how his parents wanted him to give up his dreams of becoming a writer and just take the "normal" road. I struggle with the same thing, as I'm sure most of us do, with my parents. They don't believe in my dreams and goals with modeling and are always nit picking about how I should get a "government job" or some other job that has nothing to do with what I'm about. That kind of stuff pulls you away from your life's path if you let your parents wishes influence your decisions for yourself and what you truly want. Its not about what they want for you and it never should be. Paulo has helped me deal with this issue and has given me the motivation to keep going after what I want in life.

Paulo Coelho as a person is extremely interesting and unique. We have eerily similar adolescent experiences that make me feel closer to him when I read his stories, blogs and quotes. I suggest to anyone that feels lost or unhappy with their lives--read his work and you will feel less alone in the world. Paulo inspires like no other and every thing he says is genius. I'll be honest, I am depressed and have been struggling with that for over 10 years now. Once I found out about Paulo Coelho and started reading his work, he really became a solid source of happiness and comfort for me.

Today, January 24th in his Wisdom Agenda 2011, the quote at the bottom of the page (there's one for each page in the agenda) is "The angel is always protecting us, and that is a divine gift, there is no need to invoke him. The face of your angel is always visible when you see the world through the eyes of beauty"--excerpt from his book The Pilgrimage. 


If you're not familiar with his work, never heard of Paulo or read anything written by him, here's some classic Paulo quotes for ya :) If you know me then you've probably seen me quote these on my Facebook and Twitter from time to time:

"Don't complain because our scars are our medals. But hit back whenever its possible, because we are not saints."

"When you go after what is important for you in life, don't take no for an answer"

"Things pass, and the best we can do is to really let them go away"

"If you must say yes, say it with an open heart. If you must say no, say it without fear."

and last but not least..."dreamers cannot be tamed." ;)

Paulo Coelho's website
Paulo Coelho's blog
Paulo Colho's facebook
Paulo Coelho's twitter

For my future *Virgo of the Month* awards I'd like to have a graphic designed for those entries to display next to each Virgo. If anyone out there is a graphic designer and can help me out with that please leave me a comment so we can discuss :)