The story of the Other

"A person meets up with an old friend, who lives trying to make it in life, but with no result. 'I'm going to have to give him some money' he thinks.

It turns out, that evening, he discovers that his friend is rich, and has come to pay all the debts he has accumulated all these years.

They go to a bar they used to frequent together, and he pays the drinks for everyone. When they ask the reason behind so much success, he answers that until a few days ago, he was living the Other.

- What is the Other? - they ask

- The Other is what they taught me to be, but not who I am. The Other believes that the obligation of man is to pass through his whole life thinking about how to get together money so as not to die of hunger in old age. So much does he think, so much does he plan, that he only discovers he is alive when his days on earth are about to run out. But then it is too late.

- And you, who are you?

- I am what any of you is, if you listen to your heart. A person who wonders at the mystery of life, who is open to miracles, who feels joy and enthusiasm for what he does. Only the Other, in fear of disillusionment, wont let you act.

- But there exists suffering - said the people in the bar

- There exist defeats. But no one is safe from them. So it is better to lose some battles in the fight for our dreams than be defeated without even knowing what we are fighting for.

- Only that? - ask the people in the bar

- Yes. When I discovered that, I decided to be who I really always wanted. The Other remained there, in my bedroom looking at me, but I never again let him enter, even though sometimes he tried to scare me, alerting me to the risks of not thinking of the future.

From the moment that I let go of the Other, the power of the world worked its miracles. "

(Paulo Coelho)

This is an idea which isn't mine, but which makes me think every time I read it. Who is my Other? Is is the Other still me? How do I tell the difference? Its the difference between asking what's realistic in our lives, and what we want. Because generally we sacrifice what we want for what we think is realistic. But really, if we want it enough, anything is possible.

**I only have this in Spanish, so please excuse any translation errors!