Jan 20, 2005 01:07 PM
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(Updated Jan 20, 2005 01:07 PM)
The Alchemist is a lovely fable of following your dreams wherever they take you. In a simple manner the author explains that there are omens everywhere and it is due to the untrained eye that we cannot interpret and use the omens in our lives.
The story tells us of a shepherd boy, Santiago, who travels from the plains of Andulasia to the pyramids of Egypt searching for a great treasure that comes to him in a recurring dreams.
The shepherd boy discovers many things about himself and the world around him in the course of the journey. As he goes along the way he encounters both good and bad incidents, which surprisingly do not deter him from his goal to seek the treasure.
The alchemist whom he meets along the way helps the boy to make some pertinent decisions related to the search. The alchemist was one who was versed in the practice of alchemy and who sought the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone. When the boy listens to the omens, and is prepared to follow his destiny, he ultimately succeeds.
There are lots of good thoughts and expressions spread throughout the book that makes you stop and ponder awhile. Here are some of the beautiful expressions:
''You have nothing to hold you back except yourself?
''It is only fear of failure that defeats you.''
''When a person really desires something the universe conspires to help him fulfill his dreams.''Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself?
''And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.'' ?It was ''Maktub''. It is written.
The point made in the fable is that God wants all of us to follow our dreams, which somehow get forgotten in the hustle bustle of daily lives. Although the author has written several books like ''Veronica decides to die?,? The Devil and Miss Prym'' and ''Eleven minutes?, I guess this is his most famous work.
Towards the ending of the book the author also touches upon love, extolling us that if your love is true it will wait for you till you achieve your goal. As you read along, you will agree with what the writer wants to tell you. It is the kind of book that makes you think and read between the lines. Every person has a different interpretation of the meaning of the story but the underlying theme is that we only find our destiny if we look for it.
All of us have a choice to follow our dreams or stay where we are: safe but unfulfilled.
