My European Trip 12 - L'amour et L'amitie

"Predestined happened to us,
we have no choice but peace.
Lying in the endless nights,
warm your soul with the hottest kiss.
As space apart and time flies,
my heart right here forevermore stands!"

I visited Rodin Museum in July, which has the largest collection of Auguste Rodin's works. What impressed me most are not his representative works like the thinker and Balzac, but a series of sculptures themed love. I perceived exquisite details which in turn reminded me of the novel "Eleven Minutes" by Paulo Coelho. Walking in the garden of the museum, I came to the idea of this article, L'amour et L'amitie. In this article, all my feelings and descriptions are redundant; let Rodin's sculptures and Coelho's words tell you everything.

"Here was her man, who was giving her pleasure and joy, with whom she could be the person she really was, with whom she could talk about her problems, and tell him how much she would like to stay with him for the rest of the night, for the rest of the week, for the rest of her life. " -- Paul Coelho

"It hurt when I lost each of the various men I fell in love with. Now, though, I am convinced that no one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone. ... That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it. " -- Paul Coelho

Bodies always understand each other, even when souls do not.

"She wanted to tell him that she loved him. But that would spoil everything, it might frighten him or, worse, might make him say that he loved her too. Maria didn't want that: the freedom of her love depend on asking nothing and expecting nothing." -- Paul Coelho

"If I were to tell someone about my life today, I could do it in a way that would make them think me a brave, happy, independent woman. Rubbish: I am not even allowed to mention the only word that is more important than the eleven minutes -- love."

Reference reading:

• Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho

• On Love and Loneliness, Juddu Krishnamurti