Brida by Paolo Coelho: Would You Rather Be The Flower On The Field?

Synopsis

"Brida, a young Irish girl has long been interested in various aspects of magic but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom. She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, who teaches her to trust in the goodness of the world; and a woman who teaches her to dance to the music of the world. As Brida seeks her destiny, she struggles to find a balance between her relationship and her desire to become a witch."

****
SPOILER ALERT!!!!

I will take you straight to the very end of this book. She ultimately gets what she wants and becomes a witch. Not without going through many challenges. But this story is not just a tale about magic. It also talks about love, passion and finding one's Soul Mate. 

How many of us dream of finding our Soul Mate?  Here's an excerpt from the book.

"In certain incarnations, we divide into two. Our souls divide as do crystals and stars, cells and plants...and those new souls are in turn transformed into two and so, within a few generations, we are scattered over a large part of the Earth... 

If we merely keep dividing it would keep growing, but it would also become gradually weaker. That is why, as well as dividing into two, we also find ourselves... that process of finding ourselves is called Love. "

At the beginning of the book, The Magus (the wise man who dwells in the forest) asks Brida a question, of which if she gives an honest answer, the Magus will agree to become her Teacher. In essence, the question was, would she be willing to give up everything she had learned about magic in order to be with the love of her life. She said she's give it all up. He agreed to become her Teacher. They fall out and she finds another Teacher (the woman who teaches her to dance to the music of the world).

The end brings us to Brida's initiation and at the crossroads, it turned out that The Magus was her Soul Mate. He has been aware of that fact from the very beginning because he saw the point of light on her left shoulder which only wizards can see on their Soul Mates.  No, they didn't end up being together in the end. And we thought Soul Mates always end up together! On this premise, he let her go.

Photo credit to skyhdwallpapers.com//post-processed by itsnotpoison.blogspot.com

“People give flowers as present because 

flowers contain true meaning of love. 

Anyone who tries to posses a flower will 

have to watch its beauty fading.

But if you simply look at a flower in the field, 

you'll keep it forever.

That is what the forest taught me. That you

will never be mine, and that is why i will never 

lose you.” 

Bugger. This statement has to have reservations for 'What if's', right?! It sounds so right and also so wrong at the same time. I need to argue but I can't. Or won't. What a one-sided decision. But love is indeed, setting someone free. Give or take, Paulo has done it again. Tugged a few strings in my heart.

****

Another wonderful topic that has been discussed in the book is the celebration of the strength of a woman. Just like a mother, she nourishes the world and preserves all things that are beautiful. Despite making so many sacrifices and going through persecution she remains gentle but tough. I looked to myself and realized that even if men are physically stronger, there are so many things that a woman's gentle strength is capable of.

I've also read some wonderful quotes from the book.

"Nothing is completely wrong, even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Some of God's blessings arrive by shattering everything around."

I've also noticed that a lot of scenes in the book happened in the forests of Ireland and so I got curious and Googled some photos and I found that the forests of Ireland are truly lovely and they look magical. Here's a sample which I found in Reddit. I take no credit for the photo. No copyright infringement intended.

****

To cap things, you probably noticed that my title is in the form of  a question: "Would you rather be a flower on the field?" which is of course, in reference to the ending of the book. Truly, love is not just holding on but also letting go. For me it is holding on. And no, I would rather not be the flower on the field. I would want my Soul Mate to be with me. The Magus of course, a teacher and a wizard, full of wisdom that he is, has his reasons for deciding how he decided. Although I hoped otherwise, I am glad that I have also learned many lessons in this book. I am glad that I have a different insight about the word Soul Mate. 

On a sillier note, a long time ago, I wanted to become a witch. I even researched about it. LOL. As I read the book I learned that it's a hard process and you would need a really good teacher.  But to be able to cross different world through magic? To be able to see your previous incarnations? I only wish it were that easy. :)

XOXO,

Carissa

P.S. According to the book, it is possible to find more than one Soul Mate in an incarnation because of course, we have been divided into so many pieces over time. So.... ;)