The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

164 pages

"'To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation.'

This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts." -Back Cover

This was a beautiful little book. I definitely want to read it again, as it is meant to be a fable and I'm sure there are other messages yet to discover in it. One of the ideas that is repeated in this book is that 'wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure.' I don't want to spoil the ending, but I loved where Santiago's treasure was found. Santiago spends his time trying to achieve his Personal Legend, which I took to mean his destiny. In the beginning, he's content to be a shepherd. He has his own flock and he gets to travel, which was always his dream. But in his travels he meets a king who tells him that he will find his treasure near the pyramids of Egypt. The journey there takes him to unexpected places where he meets people who help him fulfill his Personal Legend. Things don't turn out exactly as he expected them to. That resonated especially with me because my own life has taken me to places I never expected but which have led me to where I am today and since I don't believe in coincidence, I think everything happens for a reason and we are led to where God wants us to be. The trick is learning to listen and follow where He leads.

There were some wonderful little gems of wisdom in this book. Next time I read it I want to write more of them down or underline them even though I hate writing in books. A few of the ones that stood out this time were:

"He was sure that it made no difference to her on which day he appeared: for her, every day was the same, and when each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises."

"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."

'''No,' the alchemist answered. 'What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can learn, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.' 'Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested.' The boy remembered on old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn."

'''You are wise, because you observe everything from a distance,' the boy said. 'But you don't know about love. If there hadn't been a sixth day, man would not exist; copper would always be just copper, and lead just lead. It's true that everything has its Personal Legend, but one day that Personal Legend will be realized. So each thing has to transform itself into something better, and to acquire a new Personal Legend, until, someday, the Soul of the World becomes one thing only.'
The sun thought about that, and decided to shine more brightly. The wind, which was enjoying the conversation, started to blow with greater force, so that the sun would not blind the boy.
'This is why alchemy exists,' the boy said. 'So that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than he was in his former life. Lead will play its role until the world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to turn itself into gold.'"