Written by Sr. Grace - Taiwan Province
Photograph by J. Summerhays
A friend enthusiastically recommended the international bestseller “The Alchemist”. Actually, the book title didn’t attract me at all. Anyhow, I began to read it; and little by little, I was so magnetized by it that I finished the entire book in just one stretch. Consequently, I became very curious about the author Paulo Coelho. Fortunately there was a short biography in that edition published in New York, USA, about him, from which I found out that he is really an unusual person.
The plot of “The Alchemist” is not very complicated, and yet fabulous; it is simple and in the same way exotic. Above all, it is full of wisdom. A shepherd boy, who dreamed of a treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt, sold all his sheep to pursue his dream. Having undergone various difficulties on the one hand and assistances on the other, he finally reached his goal in Egypt, whereas he was shown that the treasure he had been searching for was hidden in the place where he had started his long journey. The book has a happy and comforting ending, as the boy found his treasure and love.
The phrase “Personal Legend”, which I couldn’t understand totally at the beginning, appears in the book repeatedly; for me it is the key-word of this book. I was fascinated mainly by the belief of the author, which is: every dream will come true, if we begin to follow it. Like an old man told the boy, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”. Furthermore, not only people are looking to fulfil their dreams, but the dreams are also trying to reach the people. Several times when the boy saw no hope and wanted to give up his search, something would happen, which inspired him, promoted him, gave him courage and new hope, and impelled him to continue.
Everything that happened in his life was not just a coincidence; in contrast, everything had its own meaning and provided for the fulfilment of his dream. For instance, the boy was robbed when he had just arrived in Africa. What seemed to be a tragedy was proven to be a blessing for him afterward. Just because he was robbed and he had to support himself, he found a job there and learnt plenty of skills, which helped him cross the desert and reach the Pyramids at last.
Another indispensable aspect of the story about this shepherd boy is certainly to recognize his dream or his destiny. The same old man told the boy, “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” Not everybody believes what he dreams. As a case in point, the leader of the Arabian attackers at the Pyramids, although he had the recurrent dream, too, he thought he could not be so stupid to cross an entire desert just because of a seemingly impossible dream. The boy was lucky, since he met the old man, who helped him understand his Personal Legend, even though it sounded so intricate.
I was grateful for having read this book in a time of a kind of personal confusion. The story of the shepherd boy made it clear for me, that I can have dreams and I can try to fulfil my dreams. Where my inner desire goes, there lies my dream. To realize my dream is my obligation. To live without dreams is like a dead man walking. Once when I realize my dream, I can follow it with all my effort and with all my trust. God will help me fulfil my dream through everything I encounter in my daily life.
