STONES in LIFE
To be happy is to recognize that life, is worth living, even with all its challenges, misunderstandings, and its periods of crisis.
To be happy, is to stop being the victim of problems and being the author of your own story.
To cross deserts outside of yourself, and to find the oasis inside your soul.
To thank God for each morning for the miracle of life.
To be happy, is not to be afraid of your own emotions. It is knowing how to speak about yourself.
To have the courage to listen to a “no”. To have the strength to receive a criticism, even when unjust.
Stones in the road? I save every single one, one day I´ll build a castle.”- Fernando Pessoa - portuguese poet. (Translation in english by Isabel Gallagher)
As I was walking the streets of Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona yesterday, I saw an epigraph on one old house “Stones in the road? I save every single one, one day I´ll build a castle” by Pessoa.
Fernando Pessoa is one of my favorite 20th century writers and I would describe him as many writers in one.The Portuguese author attributed his work to literary alter egos that he called “heteronyms,” each of which had a fully developed identity.
His works are extraordinary, a haunting mosaic of dreams, autobiographical vignettes, shards of literary theory and criticism and maxims. They are cerebral workings of a first-rate thinker on the dilemma of life. Full of fresh metaphors and unique perceptions.
Walking the cobblestone path of this Gothic quarter in Barcelona …my mind wanders on every single stone in my life. How did I respond to these stones? Did they serve as my stumbling blocks or stepping stones??
There are rough stones and smooth stones but have you ever wondered how it can be perfectly smooth? Did the stone start out this way, or did it change over time?
Certainly it changed over time! The weather factors, the current of water, the constant stepping on of passer-byes are the physical causes of its transformation.
Like the smooth stone, forces in our lives are constant and never ending, causing changes whether we like it or not.
The important question for all of us is: how do we respond to change?
Does change in our work environment or changes in our lives go unnoticed, or is of little concern?
Look at the stones in your life…
Change, adapt, and continue to learn is my resolution everytime I receive a stone hurled into my path.
Change will affect you one way or the other, just like what happened to the stone.
I’m past half way of building my castle with my stones!
PESSOA QUOTES
All is worthwhile if the soul is not small.”
At first, it’s unfamiliar, then it strikes root.”
Could it think, the heart would stop beating.”
God wills, Man dreams, the Work is born.”
Look, there’s no metaphysics on earth like chocolates.”
No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it.”
Success consists in being successful, not in having potential for success. Any wide piece of ground is the potential site of a palace, but there’s no palace till it’s built.”
To choose ways of not acting was ever the concern and scruple of my life.”
To feel today what one felt yesterday isn’t to feel - it’s to remember today what was felt yesterday, to be today’s living corpse of what yesterday was lived and lost.”
Wise is he who enjoys the show offered by the world.”
Filed under: STONES in LIFE, BARCELONA, PESSOA QUOTES, LIFE by ross
No one travels the highways of success without ever crossing stones. We stumble upon them because they are God’s constant reminders to keep us humble throughout our journey.
If there are no stones, what is there to step on stably?
Great post!
And like the cliche goes, “nothing is permanent except change.”
It’s a matter of acceptance for each of us.
We just have to live by it.
just embrace life. it wouldnt be called living if all we have to experience is pleasure, right? focus on the good, do away with the bad, after all, everything’s just a matter of perception.
by the way, miss ross, i added your blog at my meme ha. you might wanna check it out here: http://vixual.wordpress.com/2007/07/04/146/
*hugs*
Hello stillwaters
stillwaters wrote:
What you said is very true…humility is necessary for our journey!
HELLO c5,
C 5 wrote:
Yeah…what will we do if there are no stones? However, sometimes they hit us so hard!
All I can say is OUCH!
…we just have to learn how to catch stones that hurl our way to put them under our feet so we can trod on them…
Hi Ross,
Problems in life can remind us of our blessings. We tend to learn a great deal of lessons when going through difficulties.
It is opportunities for us to grow and learn although it is a painful process. Well, everybody got to learn to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks!
Blessings
Hello Jake,
Jake The Miserable wrote:
Yes, nothing is permanent except change and we need the wisdom to know which to change with courage and which ones to accept with serenity…
Be weel jake
Ciao Iva,
iva wrote:
Very True!
Life is a challenge and we have to dare it!
Ok…I will check it out but I will have to answer it as soon as I get back to Italy…I’m on a journey now
take care Iva!
Ciao C5,
C 5 wrote:
I agree…and it is in that learning how to catch stones that makes it quite difficult yet it makes us humble to accept our nullity
thanks sa kamatis
Hi Sam,
Sam Chan wrote:
Pains in life are sweet when we learn to accept and transform them into a higher level…
thank you sam for passing by!
Blessings too!
Hi! You didn´t post the whole poem… nor attributed credits for the translation. This poem was only recently released in Portugal. It is a wonderful poem and I am glad to see it here! He is a wonderful poet.
Hugs,
Issy
original:
Posso ter defeitos, viver ansioso e ficar irritado algumas vezes mas, não esqueço de que minha vida é a maior empresa do mundo, e posso evitar que ela vá à falência.
Ser feliz é reconhecer que vale a pena viver apesar de todos os desafios, incompreensões e períodos de crise. Ser feliz é deixar de ser vítima dos problemas e se tornar um autor da própria história.
É atravessar desertos fora de si, mas ser capaz de encontrar um oásis no recôndito da sua alma.
É agradecer a Deus a cada manhã pelo milagre da vida. Ser feliz é não ter medo dos próprios sentimentos. É saber falar de si mesmo. É ter coragem para ouvir um “não”. É ter segurança para receber uma crítica, mesmo que injusta.
Pedras no caminho?
Guardo todas, um dia vou construir um castelo…
Welcome to my site Isabel. Thank you for notifying my mistake. A friend gave me a part of Pessoa’s poem without any indication of who translated it. I already gave the credits. Please allow me to say, you did a wonderful job by translating his work in english.
I’m sorry and best wishes.
no problem and a pleasure!
p.s. i have a link to your blog on my page. I am also addicted to quotes! lol. there´s many on my own blog. hugs!