It may be strange to start off this blog with a book review, but after just finishing The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I realized that I need to take this opportunity while it's fresh in my mind.
I had texted Kathie last night once I had read the first chapter. She, after all, was the one who had suggested the book to me in the first place.
"You need to read the Alchemist next" she said, after I had announced over dinner that I had just finished reading Atlas Shrugged for the third time (which is no small feat considering that book is about a million pages long). "It's the perfect story to read after finishing that- they totally complement each other ".
So I had put The Alchemist on hold on my library app on my iPhone and waited about six weeks for a chance to read it. I admit I was smitten by the first paragraph.
"Ok I just started the Alchemist and I feel like it's maybe one of the most important books of my life" I texted her.
"By the end you will realize it is THE most important book ever. It is utterly amazing" she replied.
"Not kidding, the prologue. First sentence in the book "reading the alchemist is like being up at sunrise while the rest of the world sleeps". And then I died and knew that this will be amazing" I responded.
It is an incredibly short book compared to most of the others I have read, but truly it has touched a nerve in me and I know that within it, everything that I believe on a spiritual level rings true in this book.
There has been a handful of other books that I have experienced that I feel I was meant to find. That all are very different, and have been written by truly unique authors from all over the world; yet are filled with this, faith, for lack of a better word, that I am a follower of. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand was one of the first that have this underlying doctrine that I believe in (although it is layered with a compelling romantic story of a strong woman, which I can never resist), and The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles is another that is filled with elements that I feel are part of my own personal truth.
And now, The Alchemist. A story that is told like a legend or a fairytale or a fable, that has such a powerful underlying message that it almost stuns me. Honestly, it almost feels like sitting around a fire in Pinetop or some forest listening to this story being told by an old Latin man. But the message is quite clear.
God is within every living thing on earth. We are all from one substance, one soul, and God is a part of us. God has infinite power, so we in turn have infinite power. We are all put here to realize our own Personal Legends (they call it that - you could use any word you like. Destiny, potential, true path) and we all have treasures awaiting us if we can persevere and keep our hearts on our own Personal Legends. "The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles".
Key Elements/Messages
- After learning the treasure he was seeking was where he started out, and going through danger and distance and time the boy asked the wind "Couldn't you have saved me from that?" and the wind answers no because he wouldn't have seen every grand thing he encountered on his journey
- That before you reach your goal, you will be tested. "The night is darkest before the dawn"
- Everyone has a personal legend, but only those with courage and enthusiasm can find them. Like in Ratatouille, "Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great"
- Pay attention to "omens" There are signs all around you, and it is the universe giving signs to lead your way. Of course, these signs in themselves do not mean anything but it
- "Every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it"
- Give only gratitude when given gifts, don't say you don't deserve it, because "Life might be listening and give you less the next time"
- "Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World." "When we love, we always strive to become better than we are". "That's what alchemists do. They show that when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too."
- "Alchemy exists so that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than we was in his former life. Everytime a Personal Legend is realized, each thing has to transform itself into something better and acquire a new Personal Legend until someday the Soul of the World becomes one thing only"
