Paulo Coelho – Rules of Society

One lovely August day, I pick up this book from a table in the apartment I was living in back then called “The Zahir”, by Coelho. I read the first 90 pages in the first week or so, then went to India, after which I managed to read another 40 50 pages in the following months. In case you are wondering, that is not my normal reading speed, but at the time the spirit of the book did not speak to me that strongly, so I was reading it up on and off, mostly when Internet was not with me .

About one week back, I picked it back up, now I`m at around 300 and will be finishing it soon. This is not going to be a post about the main theme of the book, what I think and feel about that, even though it deserves it, but about a short paragraph that took me by surprise, since it connects to the understanding of society I`ve also built for myself along the years. Here it goes:

The all-powerful Zahir seemed to be born with every human being and to gain full strength in childhood, imposing rules that would thereafter always be respected:

People who are different are dangerous; they belong to another tribe; they want our lands and our women.

We must marry, we are authorised to take possession of another person, body and soul.

We must do jobs we detest because we are part of an organised society, and if everyone did what they wanted to do, the world would come to a standstill.

We must buy jewellery; it identifies us with our tribe, just as body-piercing identifies those of a different tribe.

We must be amusing at all times and sneer at those who express their real feelings; it`s dangerous for a tribe to allow its members to show their feelings.

We must at all costs avoid saying “No” because people prefer those who always say “Yes”, and this allows us to survive in hostile teritory.

What other people think is more important than what we feel.

Never make a fuss, it might attract the attention of an enemy tribe.

If you behave differently, you will be expelled from the tribe because you could infect others and destroy something that was extremely difficult to organise in the first place.

We must always consider the look of our new cave, and if we don`t have a clear idea of our own, then we must call in a decorator who will do his best to show others what good taste we have.

We must eat three meals a day, even if we`re not hungry, and when we fail to fit the current ideal of beauty we must fast, even if we`re starving.

We must dress according to the dictates of fashion, make love whether we feel like it or not, kill in the name of out country`s frontiers, wish time away so that retirement comes more quickly, elect politicians, complain about the cost of living, change our hairstyle, criticise anyone who is different, go to a religious service on Sunday, Saturday or Friday, depending on our religion, and there beg forgiveness for our sins and puff ourselves up with pride because we know the truth and despise the other tribe, who worship a false god.

Our children must follow in our footsteps; after all, we are older and know about the world.

We must have a university degree even if we never get a job in the area of knowledge  we were forced to study.

We must study things that we will never use, but which someone told us was important to know: algebra, trigonometry, the code of Hammurabi.

We must never make our parents sad, even if this means giving up everything that makes us happy.

We must play music quietly, talk quietly, weep in private, because I am the all-powerful Zahir, who lays down the rules and determines the distance between railway tracks, the meaning of success, the best way to love, the importance of rewards.

End of quote.

Not all of the statements above connect to the Romanian Culture I was born and raised in, or in the Azerbaijani culture I live in, but many people, in different moments through out my life tried to make me fit in some of those categories.

I lived most of my life defying many, if not most of those rules, getting into serious trouble for it sometimes, but never regretting it.

Anyway, I recommend the book, it`s a pretty good read!

All the best,

Alex

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