The Alchemist - My Bible

I bought Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist several years ago. I read it as soon as I bought it, even made notes in it of my impressions. I really liked the book and I agreed wholeheartedly with everything Coelho said. But, at the time the book did not really speak to me. It was a great read – but that’s all it was; just another good book. The Alchemist remained out of sight after that first reading until recently.

Couple of months ago this book started cropping up in conversations I was having with different people, so I decided to re-read it and refresh my memory.

I opened the book, began to read the first chapter, and something special happened that happens with very few books. The words made an impression not only on my mind, but on my heart. This time, the book not only spoke to me, it shouted and screamed, and made sure I listened. It was no longer a simple act of reading a book. It was a medium to listen to the voice of my own soul.

When I read The Alchemist for the first time, my view of world was an idealistic view of a teenager. The book could not speak to me, because I thought I had all the answers. I thought unlike all the other millions of people in the world, I knew how to handle my own life. I did not need a book to tell me, thank you very much.

This second reading was through an eyes of an adult who has had a taste of living in a real world where there are far more questions than answers. I no longer believe that I have all the answers, but what I do have is faith. Faith in my own ability to find the answers as I need them, and faith that “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

While I was reading this book, I felt a sense of reassurance that I wasn’t the only one with so many questions about life, and that I wasn’t crazy to continue to seek my purpose, my destiny. Even though many of us feel that sense of purpose, most of us give up the search because it does not seem to fit in with the “normal” life the society has created. The Alchemist helped me strengthen my belief in the worthiness of my own quest. As the old King says, “To realise one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation.”

Santiago’s quest is not unique. Most of us seek treasure of some kind. Most of us have dreams. The difference is that most of us lack the courage to follow our dreams. We hold on tightly to our safe, normal lives without much risk, but also without adventure. We think of fulfilling our dreams Someday. We forget that there is no Someday in the week. All we have is today. “…Life is the moment we are living right now.”

I keep my copy of The Alchemist – underlined and scribbled into – close at hand, and flip through the pages, finding reassurance from Santiago’s journey, and as I do, I ask God to always give me guidance and courage to follow my own dreams.

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”