All you need is (to) LOVE (yourself)?: Flipping Political Science the Bird

Following is a recent excerpt from Big John P's monthly column:

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"In the midst of this reverie I added another book by Paulo Coelho to my collection. The collection began with The Alchemist which I regard as essential reading (once a year); and there are at least seven other works worthy of attention. This latest publication bears the title The Zahir and is subtitled a Novel of Obsession. I have only read half the book but already that which is on my mind has been addressed and I have been given reason to pause.


Coelho seems to be sharing himself from inside his life as a writer and the details are details about his life. His wife, named Esther in the book, has gone off to be a war correspondent and Coelho is struggling to cope with her absence and her vocational decision. In one of their brief reunions Coelho tries to talk Esther out of her commitment and the following emerges.

"As long as I am in a war zone my life has meaning. I really live, I mean, loving every minute, every second. There’s no room for sadness, doubts, nothing; there’s just a great love of life."
"So, in your opinion, human beings only find life meaningful when they’re at war."
"We are always at war, we are at war with death… and the things that happen in daily life. We need to find a way of channelling all this, of allowing the energy of this pure, absolute love to flow through our bodies and spread around us."

Then Esther goes on to say,
“If everyone is capable of loving his companion without restrictions, unconditionally, then he is manifesting the love of God. If the love of God becomes manifest, he will love his neighbour, he will love himself. If he loves himself then everything returns to its proper place. History changes. History will never change because of politics, or conquests or theories or wars; that’s mere repetition, it’s been going on since the beginning of time. History will only change when we are able to use the energy of love, just as we use the energy of the wind, the sea, the atom.”

Coelho asks, “Do you think we two could save the world?
Esther answers, “I think there are more people out there who think the same way.”

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HEY HUMAN! WANNA SEE MORE?: To see a video of Coelho talking about his book and reasons for writing click here