Member-only story
The World’s Greatest Lie (According to Paulo Coelho)
And then the world’s greatest truth
“What’s the world’s greatest lie?” Paulo Coelho asked.
“It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.”
Carl Jung put it another way: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
Going into the unconscious mind is a conscious decision and it’s where I’ve learned valuable insights about who I am. I’ve uncovered behavioural patterns, limiting beliefs, and coping mechanisms that stopped serving a long time ago. However, they continued to run in the background of my mind, directing my life in unexpected ways.
I thought, “That’s just the way it is.”
It was only when I shone a light into the dark corners of my psyche that I could see more clearly. And in the seeing, I had more awareness.
Once more awareness was cultivated, life became more intentional. And whenever there’s intention there’s directionality. That directed intention helped me to create the life I wanted instead of someone else creating it for me.
“The world will ask you who you are, and if you…