The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I just finished reading this book and I must say I rather enjoyed it. It's rather fable-like, but it was, to me, rather easy to read as the language was simple but meaningful (something that can be completed in 1 night should be easy to read?). I kinda liked it too because it's one of those that you can reflect upon.

The gist of the story was about a boy who followed a dream that he had of hidden treasure. Along the way, he met a wise man, and of course, an alchemist. I shan't tell you the story, but I'll much rather share on some philosophies I gleaned from it, reflections and quotes.

A recurring theme I found was that in all things, they all come back to the original point. Sometimes, you might end up going 1 big round to realise this, that your treasure was actually there all the time, in your heart. Always listen to your heart and not forget what it tells you. Just like in the book, there was a story about a boy who went to seek a wise man, who had asked him to walk round the grounds carrying a spoon with oil. The 1st round, as the boy was concentrating on the spoon, he missed all the sights. On the 2nd round, he took in all the sights, but the oil in the spoon had gone. Quote: "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon". Don't we get distracted?

The book also talked a lot about omens, about following the signs. As I thought about it, yah, we do have omens around us, but do we see/follow them? Also, this led me to think, don't we always ask for signs? But do we always accept these signs for what they are & follow it, or rather, just reject it because it was not the sign you wanted, or can't believe it? Hence, the advice given was actually to "always ask an objective question".

Some quotes I liked:

"Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?...Because that's what makes a heart syffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer."

"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."

"And then there were the others, who were interested only in gold. They never found the secret. They forgot that lead, copper, and iron have their own Personal Legends to fulfill. And anyone who interferes with the Personal Legend of another thing never will discover his own."

"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."

A personal reflection I had was that sometimes, you need to try new things to realise your dream, and if it's really your destiny (personal legend), whichever path you take to pursue it, will lead you to that destination as it has already been written, your calling. Just like what was written in the book, once you follow your destiny, "all the universe will conspire to help you achieve it". Although this sounds rather optimistic, I feel that it does not mean that it is definitely smooth sailing. You might go the long way round or meet obstacles, but once you perservere, you will achieve it, and in that way, the "universe" sort of conspires to help you achieve it, whichever route you choose. After all, GOD will not give you a task which He thinks you can't carry out. Also, the closer you get to realising your personal legend, the more the personal legend becomes your true reason of being.

How does this relate to me? For example, when I decided to follow my heart, to become a librarian (of course with GOD's blessing), I found that this step of change brought me into what I loved to deal in most...the arts. Also, despite my feelings of inadequacy in certain art forms (visual mainly), when I tried something new that I hadn't done before, it really opened my heart to pursue my dream and confidence too in achieving it. Although it was a totally different art form altogether, it fired up in me the passion for pursuing arts, which for me is music. Of course, this was made more possible in a library environment than accounts I guess. I felt 1 step closer to my dream, though I know what I create is not pro, but it makes me happy.

Does the universe "conspire" to help me achieve this? I believe so as it opened my eyes to new possibilities, not to mention new paths ahead. I found Songcraft (note: I probably wouldn't have known this group if I hadn't become a librarian coz I found it through a colleague's blog) and I'm even on a professional development track to specialise in (Asian/Singapore) music. How cool is that! This book prompted me to reflect and made me start to realise this connection, which is awesome. GOD's workings are amazing isn't it? He has led me so far since the day I asked if I should become a librarian.
What's 1 of my biggest dream? To write worship songs and through this, minister to people. (Well, maybe writing about reflections might help too. :P) I'm not sure if this is my destiny, or maybe it is only what I can see now...that it might lead me on to other things. But the idea is to find & pursue your "personal legend".

And what does all these tell us? That all dreams converge at a point or rather 1 big dream, and that is to fulfill GOD's purpose in our life. That is truly our true reason for being, isn't it?