Thursday, August 16, 2012

Rambling: The Alchemist

Alright, how weird and coincidental is it that I just randomly started reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho today.  My heart already loves it.  Let's review the facts:

- I'm borrowing it from someone - I've skimmed through her bookshelf tons of times and just now noticed it today, even though it's been there the whole time.

- It's about someone deciding between comfort and taking risks for your dream - MY LIFE lately.

- The boy's dream also just happens to be travel.

- It is set in Spain, where I will go next month.

The story is simple and written in a lovely style, but the analogies to life and the wisdom of life are both subtle and powerful.  Below are some of the best quotes of the introduction and part one.  It's long, partly because it's beautiful and clearly true, and partly because I think I might want to look back on it in the future:

- From the introduction by the author: Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiam, we are following our legend.  However, we don't all have the courage to confront our own dreams.  Why?  There are four obstacles.  First: we are told from childhood that everything we want to do is impossible.... the second obstacle: love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream.  We do not realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us from going forward. We do not realize that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey... the third obstacle: fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: "Oh, well, I didn't really want it anyway."... then we warriors of light must be prepared to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.  I ask myself: are defeats necessary?  Well, necessary or not, they will happen.  When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes.  The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times. So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?  Because, once we have overcome the defeats - and we always do - we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence.  In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life... Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives... the fourth obstacle: the fear of realizing the dream for which we fought for all our lives.  Oscar Wilde said: "Each man kills the thing he loves." And it's true.  The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either... But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you... help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.

- "What's the world's greatest lie?" the boy asked, completely surprised.  "It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."

- "He never realized that people are capable, at any time of their lives, of doing what they dream of. In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends."

- "Don't forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else.  And don't forget the language of omens.  And, above all, don't forget to follow your Personal Legend through to its conclusion."

- "I'm like everyone else - I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does."

- When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it... he realized that he had to choose between thinking of himself as the poor victim... and as an adventurer.

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