Excerpt: The story of Other.

The story of the other:

A man runs into an old friend who had somehow never been able to make in life. "I should give him some money" he thinks. But instead he learns that his old friend has grown rich and is actu7ally searching for him to return the debts he had run up over the years.
They go for a bar they used to frequently together, and the friend buys drinks for everyone there. When they ask him how he became so successful, he answers that until only the few days ago he had been living the role of the 'other'.

"what is the other" they ask.

"The other is the one who taught me what I should be like, but not what I am. The Other believes that it is our obligation to spend our entire life thinking about how to get our hands on as much money as possible so that we will not die of hunger when we are old. So we think so much about money and our plans for acquiring it that we discover we are alive only when our days on earth are practically done. And then its too late".

"And you? Who are you??"

"I am just like everyone else who listens to their heart; a person who is enchanted by the mystery of life. Who is open to miracles, who experience joy and enthusiasm for what they do. Its just that the Other, afraid of disappointments, kept me from taking action."

"but there is sufferings in life" one of the listener said.

"and there are defeats. NO one can avoid them. But its better to lose someone of the battles in the struggle for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for."

"Thats it?" another listener asked.

"yes, thats it. When I learned this I resolved to become a person I had always wanted to be. The Other stood there in the corner of my room, watching me, but I will never let the Other inti myself again - Even though it has already tried to frighten me, warning me that it is risky not to think about the future.
From the moment that I ousted the Other from my life the Divine Energy began to perform Miracles".

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In spite of the fact that my friend had long ago expelled the Other from his life, he still wasn't having much luck finding us lodging for the night. But I knew he hadn't told me the story for his sake - he had told it for mine. He seemed to be talking about my fears, my insecurity, my unwillingness to see what was wonderful because tomorrow it might disappear and I would suffer.



Pg 56-58
By the river Piedra I sat down and wept.
Paulo Coelho.