A Short Story by Paulo Coelho

I just wanted to share with you all a short story written by Paulo Coelho back in 2007. If you wish to read more other than his books, go to his blog. I'm sure you'll love it.

o O o

Nasrudin was talking to a friend, who asked him:

‘Have you never considered getting married, Mullah?’

‘I have,’ replied Nasrudin. ‘In my youth, I resolved to find the perfect woman. I crossed the desert and reached Damascus, and I met a lovely, very spiritual woman, but she knew nothing of the world. I continued my journey and went to Isfahan; there I met a woman who knew both the spiritual and the material world, but she was not pretty. Then I decided to go to Cairo, where I dined in the house of a beautiful woman, who was both religious and a connoisseur of material reality.’

‘Why didn’t you marry her, then?’

‘Alas, my friend, she was looking for the perfect man.’

o O o

Perfection is an eternal dream we may never find in this lifetime. Yet we still seek for it.