a little bit of crazy could do the whole world good

I just finished, "Veronika Decides to Die," by Paulo Coelho.   Whenever I finish his books, I find myself staring at the last page thinking...wait.  His books touch on themes that are very cliche and yet when he writes, it is beautiful, and what has once been cliche becomes new and insightful.  The wisdom comes throughout the book, so that when you reach the end, you find yourself flipping back and re-reading trying to remember the emotions and insights you received at earlier points. 

    Veronika Decides to Die, is about living.  Moreover it's about how one lives.  One thing I found interesting was that the book pointed out that both sides of the wall, in group and out group, are living in fish bowls.   In other words, both society and the groups that resist society's demands are choosing to live in a bubble that is defined by their groups decisions.  They are dictated by what their group has designated normal....even if that means pretending to be crazy.  

Coelho writes, 

  " Life inside is exactly the same as life outside.  Both there and here, people gather in groups; they build their walls and allow nothing strange to trouble their mediocre existences.  They do things because their used to doing them, they study useless objects, they have fun because they're supposed to have fun, and the rest of the world can go hang---let them sort themselves out....What I'm saying is that life inside....is the same as the lives of almost everyone outside....carefully avoiding knowledge of what lies beyond the glass walls of the aquarium."  

   Coelho shows the faults of those who philosophize, but aren't willing to risk acting a little crazy to bring about change.  

  At the end of the book, one of the character's Maria writes, "Be like the fountain that overflows, not like the cistern that contains."   

 I don't agree with everything Coelho writes, but I always am led to think deeper after reading his books and more importantly I'm inspired to get up and act.