# Quote — Paulo Coelho, Aleph

> Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment: “I made some mistakes, but I wasn’t a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do.” However, there’s no need to anticipate my particular hell and keep going over and over the fact that I can make no further progress in what I understand to be my “Spiritual Quest.” It’s enough that I keep trying. Even those who didn’t do all they could have done have already been forgiven; they had their punishment while they were alive by being unhappy when they could have been living in peace and harmony. We are all redeemed and free to follow the path that has no beginning and will have no end.

- Author: [Paulo Coelho](https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho.md)
- Book: [Aleph](https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho/aleph.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho#Aleph_(2011)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho/aleph/hell-is-when

## More from this book

> I forgive the anger and the cruelty,

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho/aleph/i-forgive-the-anger.md)

> I love you like a river that begins as a solitary trickle in the mountains and gradually grows and joins other rivers until, after a certain point, it can flow around any obstacle in order to get where it wants.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho/aleph/i-love-you-like-a.md)

> I forgive the stillborn hopes,

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/paulo-coelho/aleph/i-forgive-the-stillborn.md)