The fifth mountain

Even though I'm not a follower of the Lord, this book has brought me many inspirations and solace.

Here are some quotes that I found really applicable in life:

"When a man journeys toward his destiny, often he is obliged to change paths. At other times, the forces around him are too powerful and he is compelled to lay aside his courage and yield. But no one can lose sight of what he desires. Even if there are moments when he believes the world and the others are stronger. The secret is this: do not surrender."

"There are moments when tribulations occur in our lives, and we cannot avoid them. But they are there for some reason." "That is a question we cannot answer before, or even during, the trials. Only when we have overcome them do we understand why they were there."

"Every man hath the right to doubt his task, and to forsake it from time to time; but what he must not do is forget it. Whoever doubteth not himself is unworthy - for in his unquestioning belief in his ability, he commiteth the sin of pride. Blessed are they who go through moments of indecision."

"This was freedom: to feel what the heart desired, with no thought to the opinion of the rest."

"She was free, for love liberates."

"Love is dangerous." he said.
"Very," replied the angel. "And so?"

"Because a man must choose. Therin lieth his strength: the power of his decisions."

"Even more difficult is defining a path for oneself."

"Thou knowest not whereof thou speakest. There is no tragedy, only the unavoidable. Everything hath its reason for being: thou needest only distinguish what is temporary for what is lasting."

"What is temporary?" "The unavoidable"
"And what is lasting?" "The lessons of the unavoidable"

"The meaning of my life was whatever I wanted it to be."

"Fear reaches only to the point where the unavoidable begins; from there on, it loses it meaning. And all we have left is the hope that we are making the right decision."

"It's not a question of hope in the future. It's a question of re-creating your own past."

"If you have a past that dissatisfies you, forget it now. Imagine a new story of your life, and believe in it. Concentrate only on those moments in which you achieved what you desired, and this strength will help you to accomplish what you want."

"Everything that could have happened but did not is carried away with the wind and leaves no trace. Life is made of our attitudes. And there are certain things that the gods oblige us to live through. Their reason for this does not matter, and there is no action we can take to make them pass us by."

"The only soultion was to forget a past of uncertainty and create a new history for oneself."

"Cowards never allow their hearts to blaze with this fire; all they desire is for the changed situation to quickly return to what it was before, so they can go on living their lives and thinking in their customary way. The brave, however, set afire that which was old and, even at the cost of great internal suffering, abandon everything, including God, and continue onward."

"The brave are always stubborn"

"Tragedies do happen.We can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different out lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it. From there onward we must put aside the fear that they awoke in us and begin to rebuild."

Everything, happens for a reason.