--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Esther asks why peaple are sad . \"That's…" description: "\"“Esther asks why peaple are sad . \"That's simple,\" says the old man. \"They ara the prioners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg" --- # Esther asks why peaple are sad . "That's simple," says the… ![“Esther asks why peaple are sad . "That's simple," says the old man. "They ara the prioners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another persone. They accumulate experiences…” quote by paulo coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg) > ““Esther asks why peaple are sad . "That's simple," says the old man. "They ara the prioners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another persone. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other peaples's ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with, and that is why they forget their dreams”” [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. We often become prisoners of the stories we inherit, following plans that aren't truly ours, which clouds our dreams and causes sadness. **In simple terms:** We are trapped by inherited expectations, losing sight of personal dreams. Key Takeaway Question whose narrative you truly follow. Themes identity dreams freedom Mood reflective melancholy Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - relationship expectations - personal goal setting - creative projects Key Concepts self‑determination existential burden Questions to Reflect On - Whose voice guides your decisions? - What would happen if you rewrote your own story? A Different Perspective Plans may be useful but can also limit authentic self‑expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Personal history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-history/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) ## Related quotes > [“know. “Esther asks why people are sad. “‘That’s simple,’ says the old man. ‘They are the prisoners of their personal history. Everyone believes that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/know-esther-asks-why-people-are-sad-that-s-simple-says-the-old-man/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Thats simple, says the old man. They are the prisoners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/br0k3n-h3art/thats-simple-says-the-old-man-they-are-the-prisoners-of-their/) Br0k3n\_h3Art > [Why are people sad? Thats simple. They are the prisoners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/why-are-people-sad-thats-simple-they-are-the-prisoners-of-their/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [We often forget our dreams so speedily: if we cannot catch them as they are passing out at the door, we never set eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-often-forget-our-dreams-so-speedily-if-we-cannot-catch-them-as/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [There are times to dream,there are times to accomplish your dreams,there are times than to give up on your dreams and then there also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadir-mqadam/there-are-times-to-dream-there-are-times-to-accomplish-your-dreams/) Nadir Mqadam > [“If you forget your dreams on waking, does that mean they never happened? That the people in them never existed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-merrow/if-you-forget-your-dreams-on-waking-does-that-mean-they-never/) [J.L. Merrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-merrow/) > [Living a life fully engaged and full of whimsy and the kind of things that love does is something most people plan to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/living-a-life-fully-engaged-and-full-of-whimsy-and-the-kind-of-things/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [“Dreaming is good; dream more. Never forget that dreams have little value until you take action to realize those dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/dreaming-is-good-dream-more-never-forget-that-dreams-have-little/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > ["There is no disputing about tastes," says the old saw. In my experience there is little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-is-no-disputing-about-tastes-says-the-old-saw-in-my-experience/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There's a difference between dreaming and doing. The dreamers just sit around and moon about how wonderful it would be if only things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-robson/there-s-a-difference-between-dreaming-and-doing-the-dreamers-just-sit/) May Robson > [We forget most of our dreams because we don't have access to those parts of our brain once we are switched to wakefulness. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hardie/we-forget-most-of-our-dreams-because-we-don-t-have-access-to-those/) [Amy Hardie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hardie/) > [The most difficult things for me to forget, are those dreams you were once part of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blossom/the-most-difficult-things-for-me-to-forget-are-those-dreams-you-were/) [Blossom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blossom/) > [Every morning we have a choice -- forget our dreams or live them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-gabel/every-morning-we-have-a-choice-forget-our-dreams-or-live-them/) [Seth Gabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-gabel/) > [“Is, then, the man-made reality outside ourselves not the most significant factor for the development of the very best in us, and must we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/is-then-the-man-made-reality-outside-ourselves-not-the-most/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“I met you in dream." She says. "You're right. But here we are, back to the real world." "I was so afraid you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/i-met-you-in-dream-she-says-you-re-right-but-here-we-are-back-to-the/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) ## 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 Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Esther asks why peaple are sad . \"That's simple,\" says the old man. \"They ara the prioners of their personal history. Everyone believes that the main aim in life is to follow a plan. They never ask if that plan is theirs or if it was created by another persone. They accumulate experiences, memories, things, other peaples's ideas, and it is more than they can possibly cope with, and that is why they forget their dreams”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "paulo coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-simple-says-the-old-man-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-simple-says-the-old-man-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f57/paulo-coelho-10_dreams_esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-si_3212711.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Esther asks why peaple are sad . \"That's simple,\" says the old man. \"They ara the prioners of their personal…” — 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": "“Esther asks why peaple are sad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-simple-says-the-old-man-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/esther-asks-why-peaple-are-sad-that-s-simple-says-the-old-man-they/#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 } } ] } ```