The Alchemist

Interesting qoutes:

First, we are told from childhood that everything we want to do is impossible. As we grow older, layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt accumulate, burying our personal calling deep within our soul. But it is still there. To disinter our dream, we need courage.

Second, we fear hurting those we love by abandoning everything to pursue our dream. But love is a stimulus, not a hindrance. Those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and will accompany us on our journey.

Third, we fear the defeats we will encounter on the path to our dream. We suffer more when it doesn’t work out because we cannot fall back on the old excuse that we didn’t really want it anyway. We must have patience and know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor.

Fourth, we fear realizing our dream. The mere possibility of getting what we want fills us with guilt. We forget about the obstacles we overcame, the suffering we endured, and the things we had to give up to get this far. We must believe ourselves worthy of the thing we fought so hard to get.

Living our personal calling is important because once we overcome the obstacles and fulfill our dream, we are filled with a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable.

In the end, we become an instrument of God, helping the Soul of the World, and understanding why we are here. The secret of life is to fall seven times and get up eight times. Each day and each hour is part of the good fight.
Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.
Well, if you know how to read, why are you just a shepherd?
“People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being,” said the old man, with a certain bitterness. “Maybe that’s why they give up on it so early, too. But that’s the way it is.”
I’m afraid that if my dream is realized, I’ll have no reason to go on living.
And I know the Soul of the World, because we have talked at great length to each other during this endless trip through the universe. It tells me that its greatest problem is that, up until now, only the minerals and vegetables understand that all things are one. That there’s no need for iron to be the same as copper, or copper the same as gold. Each performs its own exact function as a unique being, and everything would be a symphony of peace if the hand that wrote all this had stopped on the fifth day of creation. “But there was a sixth day,” the sun went on. “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. “That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too. “Well, why did you say that I don’t know about love?” the sun asked the boy.
“Because it’s not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it’s not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World. When I first reached through to it, I thought the Soul of the World was perfect. But later, I could see that it was like other aspects of creation, and had its own passions and wars. It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that’s where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are.”
“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place. “So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.” “Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist. “Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.”

Notes:

The key to a fulfilled life is to follow your dreams. Don’t allow the doubts and fears stop you from following your dreams as you will regret them in future. It’s worth all the troubles :)