Some people appear to be happy, but they simply don't give the matter much thought. Others make plans: I'm going to have a husband, a home, two children, a house in the country. As long as they're busy doing that, they're like bulls looking for the bullfighter: they react instinctively, they blunder on, with no idea where the target is. They get their car, sometimes they even get a Ferrari, and they think that's the meaning of life, and they never question it. Yet their eyes betray the sadness that even they don't know they carry in their soul. Are you happy?
happiness life material sadness
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About This Quote

About Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho was a contemporary Brazilian lyricist and novelist. Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His 1988 novel The Alchemist became an international best-seller. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Happiness — Thoughts on finding joy, contentment, and fulfilment
  • Life — Reflections on the meaning, challenges, and beauty of life
  • Sadness — Navigating grief, melancholy, and emotional depth

More quotes by Paulo Coelho

“I understand once again that the greatness of God always reveals itself in the simple things.”
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“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for hi...”
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“Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused.”
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“The spiritual path can only be traveled through the daily experience of love.”
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“But love is always new. Regardless of whether we love once, twice, or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand-new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always take...”
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“I've been in love before, it's like a narcotic. At first it brings the euphoria of complete surrender. The next day you want more. You're not addicted yet, but you like the sensation, and you think...”
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inspiration life life-lessons love
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