Odilia Carmen Chirica

"I was a neurotic for years. Anxious, depressed, selfish. And everyone kept telling me to change. And I resented them, and agreed with them, and wanted to change, but simply couldn’t, no matter how I tried. What hurt the most was that, like the others, my closest friend kept urging me to change. So I felt powerless and trapped. One day he said “Don’t change. I love you as you are.” Those words were music to my ears: “Don’t change. Don’t change. Don’t change... I love you as you are.” I relaxed. I came alive. And, suddenly, I changed! Now I know that I couldn’t really change till I found someone to love me whether I changed or not. Is this how you love me, God?" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Uwais, the Sufi, was once asked: “What has Grace brought you?”  He replied:  “When I wake in the morning I feel like a man who is not sure he will live till evening.”  Said the questioner:  “But doesn’t everyone know this?”  Said Uwais: “They certainly do. But not all of them feel it.”  No one ever became drunk on the word wine. "   from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"The Seeker approached the Disciple and asked respectfully, “What is the meaning of human life?”  The Disciple consulted the Works of his Master and confidently replied: “Human life is nothing but the expression of God’s exuberance.  “When the Seeker addressed the same question to the Master himself, the Master said, “I do not know.”  The Seeker says, “I do not know.” That takes honesty. The Master says, “I do not know.” That takes a mystic’s mind that knows things through non-knowing. The Disciple says, “I know.” That takes ignorance in the form of borrowed knowledge." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

" The industrialist was horrified to find the fisherman lying beside his boat, smoking a pipe.  “Why aren’t you out fishing?” said the industrialist.  “Because I have caught enough fish for the day.”  “Why don’t you catch some more?”  “What would I do with it?”  “Earn more money. Then you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. That would bring you money to buy nylon nets, so more fish, more money. Soon you would have enough to buy two boats... even a fleet of boats. Then you could be rich like me.”  “What would I do then?”  “Then you could really enjoy life.”  “What do you think I am doing now?”  Which would you rather have: a fortune or a capacity for enjoyment?" from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"Each time the guru sat for worship with his students the ashram cat would come in to distract them, so he ordered them to tie it when the ashram was at prayer. After the guru died the cat continued to be tied at worship time. And when the cat expired, another cat was brought into the ashram to make sure that the guru’s orders were faithfully observed at worship time. Centuries passed and learned treatises were written by the guru’s scholarly disciples on the liturgical significance of tying up a cat while worship is performed."   from the book " Song Of The Bird " by Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"The village priest was distracted at his prayer by the children. To get rid of them he said, “Hurry to the river and you will see a monster breathing fire through his nostrils.”  Soon the whole village had heard of this monstrous apparition and was rushing to the river. The priest too joined the crowd. As he panted his way through four solid miles, he kept saying to himself, “It is true I invented the story. But you never can tell I”  A good way to believe in the gods we have created is to convince others of their existence."   from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen

"A mother could not get her son to come home before sunset. So, she told him that the road to their house was haunted by ghosts who come out after dusk. By the time the boy grew up he was so afraid of ghosts that he refused to run errands at night. So she gave him a medal and taught him that it would protect him. Bad religion gives him faith in the medal. Good religion gets him to see that ghosts do not exist." from the book  "Song Of The Bird"  by  Anthony de Mello ...in truth,  OdiliaCarmen