--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did…" description: "\"Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did not think 'this must be heaven'. Heaven would never use a fluorescent tube to light a room, and the pain - which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/paulo-coelho-10_earth_then-she-opened-her-eyes-veronika-did-no_371118.jpg" --- # Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did not think 'this… ![“Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did not think 'this must be heaven'. Heaven would never use a fluorescent tube to light a room, and the pain - which started a fraction of a second later - was typical of the Earth. Ah, that Earth pain - unique, unmistakable.” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/paulo-coelho-10_earth_then-she-opened-her-eyes-veronika-did-no_371118.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/paulo-coelho-10_earth_then-she-opened-her-eyes-veronika-did-no_371118.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/paulo-coelho-10_earth_then-she-opened-her-eyes-veronika-did-no_371118.jpg) > “Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did not think 'this must be heaven'. Heaven would never use a fluorescent tube to light a room, and the pain - which started a fraction of a second later - was typical of the Earth. Ah, that Earth pain - unique, unmistakable.” [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. Heaven is imagined as perfect, but reality’s pain is authentic and uniquely human, making life valuable. **In simple terms:** Real pain makes life authentic. Key Takeaway Embrace life's imperfections. Themes existence pain reality heaven humanity Mood contemplative hopeful poetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - grief coping - mindfulness practice - creative expression - spiritual seeking Key Concepts philosophy spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does 'Earth pain' teach you about living? - How can you find beauty in everyday suffering? A Different Perspective Idealized visions can distract from appreciating ordinary experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Earth Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth-pain-2497399/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Veronika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-veronika-3385366/) [Fractions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fractions/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Her eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/her-eyes/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Opened Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opened-eyes/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pain Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-unique-1212425/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Think Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-heaven/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Typical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/typical/) [Unique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unique/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Look... to go through life and call it yours - your life - you first have to get your own pain. Pain that's unique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/look-to-go-through-life-and-call-it-yours-your-life-you-first-have-to/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [I remind myself that my pain is not unique. Everybody suffers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-remind-myself-that-my-pain-is-not-unique-everybody-suffers/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“How indeed is it possible for one human being to be sorry for all the sadness that meets him on the face of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/how-indeed-is-it-possible-for-one-human-being-to-be-sorry-for-all-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [The time has come to listen to the frightened moans of our fellow brothers and sisters and indeed the earth itself is in pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-morgan/the-time-has-come-to-listen-to-the-frightened-moans-of-our-fellow/) [Marlo Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-morgan/) > [Mother Earth is in pain and ailing because of global warming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/mother-earth-is-in-pain-and-ailing-because-of-global-warming/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [“When the years are dying in the arms of your life, the earth is in pain moving around the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/when-the-years-are-dying-in-the-arms-of-your-life-the-earth-is-in/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Is there evil but on earth? Or pain in every people sphere? Well, be grateful for the sounding watchword "Evolution" here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/is-there-evil-but-on-earth-or-pain-in-every-people-sphere-well-be/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/hell-is-when-we-look-back-during-that-fraction-of-a-second-and-know/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But scenery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/people-think-of-heaven-as-a-paradise-garden-a-place-where-they-can/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Some people think they should go to Heaven but not have to die to get there. Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gilbert/some-people-think-they-should-go-to-heaven-but-not-have-to-die-to-get/) [Dan Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gilbert/) > [“People who die in Detroit and then go to hell probably think they’re in heaven. I know, because I’ve been to Cleveland. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/people-who-die-in-detroit-and-then-go-to-hell-probably-think-they-re/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I'd like to think there is a Heaven, and it starts from the happiest day in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/i-d-like-to-think-there-is-a-heaven-and-it-starts-from-the-happiest/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) > [He liked to think that Heaven was what each person wanted it to be. He could see no future in lying around on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/he-liked-to-think-that-heaven-was-what-each-person-wanted-it-to-be-he/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [Do I think there is a heaven? Uh, yeah I do. Like a really big gymnasium. How do I see myself there? With really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/do-i-think-there-is-a-heaven-uh-yeah-i-do-like-a-really-big-gymnasium/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) ## 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 Earth quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Then all this earth shines like one house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/then-all-this-earth-shines-like-one-house/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. 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Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [What did you do to save the world today?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/what-did-you-do-to-save-the-world-today/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) [Browse all 15,455 Earth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Then she opened her eyes, Veronika did not think 'this must be heaven'. Heaven would never use a fluorescent tube to light a room, and the pain - which started a fraction of a second later - was typical of the Earth. 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