paolo coelho is indeed an "enlightened" being.
i had the chance to read his other work (aside from the fashionably ubiquitous literary accessory "the alchemist") poetically entitled "by the river piedra i sat down and wept" (which was a very "heartfelt" title if you ask me... phew... there's too much adjective here... urghh). although this one has a more mature theme, about the "rekindled" love between two childhood friends who found each other after being separated for years, it has the typical ingredients of a coelho "classic:" spirituality, innocence and ummm... the "deterministic" forces of nature...(okay, maybe i made that up, just to make it three. maybe nobody'll get it anyway... hehe). he seems to be well versed in the language of the universe. his writing is simple but it speaks of a profound truth. a truth which was once obvious when our hearts were younger. but suppressed and eventually forgotten as we grew older to a world which appeared colder, resorting to apathy as a means of self preservation. if coelho had his way, he would want us to seek our childhood innocence and that we listen to our hearts. of course he tells it in a way that would not make it as cheesy as it sounds.

reading coelho is an experience (nearly) akin to making a commune with nature... like taking a long bus ride and bearing witness to the its majestic grandeur, the endless rice fields, the commanding presence of mountain ranges kissing the sky, the limitless horizon... it tells a message that is understood by the soul... like listening to asin's "pag-ibig, pagbabago, pagpapatuloy...", discovering a love one at 4 am in the morning enveloped by a sky clashing with the weary darkness of night and an impending daylight... it's as if the current of the universe is flowing through your very veins...

or is that saying too much?