--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At these times, the adversary appears…" description: "\"“At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards. Written on one board: “Think more of yourself. Keep your blessings to yourself, otherwise yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg" --- # At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards… ![“At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards. Written on one board: “Think more of yourself. Keep your blessings to yourself, otherwise you will lose everything.” The other board reads: “who are you to help others? Can’t you even see your own defects?” A warrior of the light knows he…” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg) > ““At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards. Written on one board: “Think more of yourself. Keep your blessings to yourself, otherwise you will lose everything.” The other board reads: “who are you to help others? Can’t you even see your own defects?” A warrior of the light knows he has defects. But he also knows he cannot grow alone, and distance himself from his companions. So he throws both boards to the ground, even though he believes they contain some truth deep down. They turn to dust, and the warrior continues to help those near him.”” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing self‑criticism and selfishness as obstacles, the enlightened person rejects both and chooses communal growth despite personal flaws. **In simple terms:** Reject selfishness and self‑doubt, embrace helping others. Key Takeaway Choose community over isolation. Themes self‑awareness community growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - team projects - volunteering - mentorship - personal development Key Concepts humility interdependence inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑improvement with helping others? - What truths do you hold onto that may hinder growth? A Different Perspective Overcoming personal flaws requires ongoing effort, not a single act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) [Help others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-others/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warrior/) [Warrior of the light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warrior-of-the-light/) ## Related quotes > [A Warrior of Light never resorts to trickery, but he knows how to distract his opponent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-light-never-resorts-to-trickery-but-he-knows-how-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“It's odd," the Warrior of the Light says to himself. "I have met so many people who, at the first opportunity, try to show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-s-odd-the-warrior-of-the-light-says-to-himself-i-have-met-so-many/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“a warrior of the light is always committed. He is the slave of his dream and free to act”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-the-light-is-always-committed-he-is-the-slave-of-his/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To attain his dream, the warrior of light needs a strong will and an enormous capacity for acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-attain-his-dream-the-warrior-of-light-needs-a-strong-will-and-an/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A Warrior of the Light cannot always choose his battlefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-the-light-cannot-always-choose-his-battlefield/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The Warrior of the Light never forgets the old saying: The good little goat doesn't bleat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-warrior-of-the-light-never-forgets-the-old-saying-the-good-little/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Every Warrior of the Light has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/every-warrior-of-the-light-has-suffered-for-the-most-trivial-of/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The warrior of light plunges unhesitatingly into the river of passions always flowing through his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-warrior-of-light-plunges-unhesitatingly-into-the-river-of/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Every Warrior of the Light has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/every-warrior-of-the-light-has-at-some-time-in-the-past-lied-or/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Before commencing battle, the Warrior of Light opens his heart and asks God to inspire him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/before-commencing-battle-the-warrior-of-light-opens-his-heart-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“So, a warrior of the light must be prepared to be patient at difficult times, and know that the Universe is conspiring in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/so-a-warrior-of-the-light-must-be-prepared-to-be-patient-at-difficult/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The Warrior of the Light knows that it is impossible to live in a state of complete relaxation. He has learned from the archer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-warrior-of-the-light-knows-that-it-is-impossible-to-live-in-a/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Every Warrior of the Light has failed in his spiritual duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/every-warrior-of-the-light-has-failed-in-his-spiritual-duties/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Sometimes Evil pursues the Warrior of the Light, and when it does, he calmly invites it into his tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/sometimes-evil-pursues-the-warrior-of-the-light-and-when-it-does-he/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [A Warrior of the Light does not accept gifts from his enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-warrior-of-the-light-does-not-accept-gifts-from-his-enemy/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More Adversary quotes > [“Satan wants you to believe that you don't have a choice in the matter. You can't be happy until things go the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-rietzsch/satan-wants-you-to-believe-that-you-don-t-have-a-choice-in-the-matter/) Lindsey Rietzsch > [Anthony Weiner is a crafty and worthy adversary - an unrepentant lefty who is usually a savvy media player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stone/anthony-weiner-is-a-crafty-and-worthy-adversary-an-unrepentant-lefty/) [Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stone/) > [My adversary is the world of finance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/my-adversary-is-the-world-of-finance/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [And these two elements are at odds with one another because Freud is utterly adversary to almost all the ways of structuring the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-these-two-elements-are-at-odds-with-one-another-because-freud-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-negotiate-in-bad-faith-if-you-do-not-forgive-your-adversary/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“price. There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/price-there-is-no-such-thing-as-pure-good-or-pure-evil-least-of-all/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [If you have an adversary, an opponent with an opposing point of view, give that person a platform, regardless of how extreme it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/if-you-have-an-adversary-an-opponent-with-an-opposing-point-of-view/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, it is important to try to understand your adversary in order to figure out how they are thinking, what they will be doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/historically-it-is-important-to-try-to-understand-your-adversary-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“I've never viewed you as an enemy, more an adversary...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-ve-never-viewed-you-as-an-enemy-more-an-adversary/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“We have first seized the front line of trenches, then the second and the third, and our adversary, shut up in his retreat, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/we-have-first-seized-the-front-line-of-trenches-then-the-second-and/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [Only way to eliminate the element of surprise is to know yourself and now your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/only-way-to-eliminate-the-element-of-surprise-is-to-know-yourself-and/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [“You will never come up against a greater adversary than your own potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-trekek-the-next-generation-episode-guide-team/you-will-never-come-up-against-a-greater-adversary-than-your-own/) Star trekek The Next Generation Episode Guide Team > [“Whenever i see someone fighting me for no reason, I'm always highly impressed that God has instigated his anger against me, just as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/whenever-i-see-someone-fighting-me-for-no-reason-i-m-always-highly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [An exhausted man easily falls prey to the adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/an-exhausted-man-easily-falls-prey-to-the-adversary/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [It is wrong to follow the advice of an adversary; nevertheless it is right to hear it, that you may do the contrary; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/it-is-wrong-to-follow-the-advice-of-an-adversary-nevertheless-it-is/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) [Browse all 142 Adversary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards. Written on one board: “Think more of yourself. Keep your blessings to yourself, otherwise you will lose everything.” The other board reads: “who are you to help others? Can’t you even see your own defects?” A warrior of the light knows he has defects. But he also knows he cannot grow alone, and distance himself from his companions. So he throws both boards to the ground, even though he believes they contain some truth deep down. They turn to dust, and the warrior continues to help those near him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-holding-two-boards-written-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-holding-two-boards-written-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87b/paulo-coelho-10_help-others_at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-hol_747015.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At these times, the adversary appears holding two boards. Written on one board: “Think more of yourself…” — Paulo Coelho", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At these times, the adversary appears...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-holding-two-boards-written-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/at-these-times-the-adversary-appears-holding-two-boards-written-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```