The Alchemist
(Paulo Coelho)
This simple and beautiful book by Paolo Coelho is a must read for anyone who believes in pursuing his own dreams. The keyword here is own. We all have dreams, but how many of us have our own dreams? Our dreams are more often than not the dreams of our family, our friends and the society we live in. Very few people believe in and pursue their own dreams.
The author has narrated this concept with the help of a story of a simple shepherd boy. A boy who is not afraid to dream and moreover who is not afraid of risking everything he owns for that dream. The boy sells all his sheep and sets off on a journey towards the pyramids to search for a treasure about which he had a recurrent dream. During the journey he faces many odds but his belief is never shaken. ?When you set out to follow your dream, the whole universe conspires to help you?. Thus turning all odds to his own advantage the boy progresses towards his destination.
The author also compares the struggle of achieving your dreams with alchemy. To most people alchemy is the discovery of the philosopher?s stone that can convert any base metal to gold. Similarly, people dream of converting themselves to highly successful people. They attach too much importance to the final product. They do not realize that it is the process of learning, of experience that makes them successful. Even as in alchemy, it is the process of hundreds of years of change and endurance that converts a useless metal to gold.
Alchemy is given a new and relevant meaning through this story. The purpose of alchemy is not to convert a base metal to gold. It is to convert something useless to something more useful. gold is only as good as it?s use or value. Only a person stranded on an island with a trunk full of gold knows the importance of wood. Therefore, it is for us to discover what we should convert ourselves to, so that we are more useful to ourselves. Just because everybody says gold is valuable it should not become our dream.
True alchemy lies in the discovery of our own dream, believing in that dream, pursuing the dream and to learn from that process. Only then can we achieve the gold in ourselves.
Resumos Relacionados
- The Alchemist
- The Alchemist
- El Alquimista
- Living Your Dreams
- The Alchemist
|
|
