The Witch of Portobello

Why is patience so important?”
“Because it makes us pay attention.”

bitter clash between her personal dreams and collective reality

I found myself and realised that I could never have anything or lose anything.

the soul either rises up to heaven or descends into hell, depending on the person’s state of mind. In both cases, it learns what it needs to learn: to destroy or to heal

he simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be, even though, at first, it may seem uncomfortable.”

know that people who are in love do affect the environment in which they live, and so I immediately assumed that Athena must have met someone very important in her life.

And the best way to know who we are is often to find out how others see us.

We cook and complain that it’s a waste of time, when we should be pouring our love into making that food. We work and believe it’s a divine curse, when we should be using our skills to bring pleasure and to spread the energy of the Mother

But she couldn’t control herself; she thought she was the mistress of the truth, capable of overcoming all barriers merely by using her powers of seduction.

Athena wasn’t very interested in that; she wanted to live, dance, make love, travel, to gather people around her in order to demonstrate how wise she was, to show off her gifts, to provoke the neighbors, to make the most of all that is profane in us—although she always tried to give a spiritual gloss to that search.