“When you want something, the whole universe conspires in order for you to achieve it” — The Alchemist
If life were a game of hide and seek, our minds would be the ones hiding and our hearts would be the ones seeking. There is no practical or mindful method as to how we go about accomplishing our dreams, because the truth is all we have to do is listen to our heart and our intuitions. Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ a novel written with magic, does a stellar job at repainting the intuition of following your heart constantly with the recurrence of a particular saying, “when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.” To me, the narrative is a soul searching journey for the reader as much as it is about Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy travelling from Spain to the Sahara desert in his quest for finding the treasure hidden beneath the majestic Pyramids. He encounters a Gypsy woman, the King of Salem, the crystal merchant, Fatima, and the alchemist, who bring him closer to discovering the treasure that lies within. I chose this story because Santiago’s journey carries a universal message for us all, that (the treasure) in life is our ability to listen to our hearts. When you give your heart a chance to speak, its words contain within them the language of the soul, which I believe is the only means of communication to the soul of the world. Your heart calls out to the spirit of the universe and the universe immediately responds as if it were waiting for you to call. The answers of the world are endless for they can take many shapes and forms but it all starts with your heart. In this reflection, I will be sharing key lessons in the form of quotes embroidered within the tapestry of the novel that I feel make the core of its main message, following your heart.
To me ‘The Alchemist’ is the secret to understanding life. Like Santiago’s journey, “Every search begins with beginner’s luck and ends with the victors being severely tested.” (Coelho, 1988, pg. 134). This signifies the recurring idea of us wanting something and universe aligning things for you to achieve it.” It explains that when we first realize our dream, everything falls into place and works out for us; but as we trek further in our journey, we face challenges that can be manifested through both internal and external forces. This is an important step everyone must go through because a journey is all about learning, just like learning in the classroom that is also a journey. We learn valuable lessons from the experiences these journeys bring us and the only way to test our knowledge is through obstacles; where we must put fear aside and let courage guide us, for instance exams or projects they are a challenge but we have the power to overcome them with our knowledge. Coelho points out that initially the Soul of the World works with you, then eventually it works against you; only to make you a better person, to turn silver into gold. With this the book teach readers about the alchemy behind pursuing our “personal legend” or dream.
Something that resonated deeply with me as a habit we must all practice in life was when “The boy and his heart had become friends, and neither was capable now of betraying one another.”(Coelho, 1988, pg. 135). You must befriend your heart by listening to it then you understand why it is behaving a certain way or why it is telling you to do a certain thing. With this practice, you feel happy and complete; you feel these emotions because you pursued what your heart spoke. The heart always speaks the truth since it constantly reminds you of what you truly want; not admitting the truth is like living a life of lies, a life of regret. In addition, not listening to your heart will never stop it from beating, it will always tell you; about everything that surrounds you. Avoiding it will only make the load heavier and one day the washer will just explode. So, once you seek your heart, you will have found the meaning to your life because your heart is a safe that stores all your priceless treasures (memories, feelings, dreams), that make up what you seek and value in life. In the novel, a relatable situation, Santiago reached a point where he was questioning himself and fearing his journey’s outcome that was far- fetched. His heart is deceitful because at times it tells to continue the venture and other times to get back to security and familiarity. The alchemist explains Santiago to continue listening to it despite what it says otherwise his heart will not speak but whisper its words in hopes that they will not be heard; this will prevent us from suffering, but if our heart is reminded somehow of the dreams it wishes to fulfill then it will suffer unimaginably, so it is best to befriend it and listen to it. Coelho explains through the alchemist, the importance of one’s heart, that it will always be there for you, and that you should never break its trust for it will never break yours, it will be always be truthful.
We all want a dream to come true, ‘The Alchemist’ reveals “ there is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”(Coelho, 1988, pg. 143) This spoke to me because it teaches us that the only thing that stops us from fulfilling our dream is our fear of never being able live up to its expectations and encounter failure instead. The fear of failure is an assumption and it is in human nature to assume literally anything. I know I myself am very guilty of this! I wanted to go into medicine but my fear of failure in calculus shut that dream. An assumption eventually turns into a belief and you can never truly believe unless you have experienced it. Thus, before turning away from your dreams, you should try to live them instead of fearing a loss, that is non-existent and is hindering the pursuit of your dreams.
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”(Coelho, 2014, pg.24). This is a highly significant motif in the novel, summarizing the author’s intent in the entire novel, just like the emerald tablet in the works of alchemy. When you wish to accomplish whatever it is you want, all you have to do is realize or try to realize it; the rest is for the world to take care of. Your soul and the world’s soul are interconnected because your soul is a part of the world’s soul. It is the King of Salem who speaks such words in the story and he adds on that “the Soul of the World is nourished by people’s happiness, envy, and jealousy.” Realizing personal legends is a benefit not only to yourself but also the world, because if everyone realizes their dreams and aspirations, the spirit of happiness and wholesomeness will cover the world making it a much happier place rather than the calamitous spirit that comes into presence as a result of regret and jealousy.
“When you want something with all your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.”(Coelho, 2014, pg. 80) The world interprets one’s heart and the world being identical because they both long for one thing; happiness. Your heart and the world speak the same language because they both want your prosperity. The way everything connects is like this, the world observes how much you want something, wanting something requires passion, passion needs energy; energy is a force in this case, positive because it involves completing your dream. You are closest to the world because you are happy and optimistic about your passion, this connects you further to the world and it plays a part in your success. This makes me think of the Dalai Lama, a pure soul with such a powerful desire in creating world peace. His connection with the universe is a strong and positive force.
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”(Coelho, 2014, pg. 13). ‘The Alchemist’ underlines to the readers that it is the thrill, the “what ifs” in your life’s journey that make it exciting. We resemble the sheep in the context of the novel, we are all used to living our monotonous life, valuing comfort and safety. We are not willing to test the waters and shift boundaries because we are too absorbed in our daily routine. Santiago thinks of this as he is on his way to Tarifa, he thinks that we are indeed like his flock of sheep who only follow what is in front of us and cannot think outside the box. It is then, that the boy realizes that having a dream means having something to live for; they give our lives a purpose, a meaning that we all want to find because we ourselves do not know what it truly is, until we discover it. This is when he starts to question his way of life and begins to explore the intent of dreams. In addition, this thought of his, lays the foundation for the book and reveals to the reader the vitality role dreams play in our lives.
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”(Coelho, 2014, pg.151). The novel proposes to the reader a similar idea to the “Law of Attraction” in Rhonda Byrne’s, The Secret. The law of attraction is a philosophy that states, thinking positive and better thoughts brings positive and better experiences in a person’s life. The positive thoughts can define dreams, desires, anything! When we try to improve ourselves, our will and positivity radiate throughout our surroundings, attracting and inspiring others around us to pursue their better selves.
“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”(Coelho, 2014, pg.117) “Your treasure” is a metaphor for what you as a person wish most for. To know what you want most, listen to your heart, that is why Coelho states that in order to know where your treasure lies, you must see where your heart lies. Your treasure can be anything, the person you love most, family; it does not have to be literal treasure, in fact a lot of the times the treasure one seeks is figurative. After encountering the power of love, security of the oasis, and materialistic possessions such as the money from the crystal merchant as well as the fifty gold pieces from the tribal chieftain; Santiago was reconsidering his journey towards the pyramids. This relates to this notion that often we as people get so attached to material things and comfort, that we fail to meet the needs of our heart and welcome challenges. The alchemist speaks such words to remind the boy of what he is here for and not to get carried away with other pursuits, such as the quest for love; if Fatima and Santiago are meant to be then the universe will make a way for them to be together eventually much like anything else in life if other desires unrelated to our purpose in life are important the universe will bring them but at the right time in our lives. “There is only one way to learn… it’s through action. Everything you need to know you have to learn through journey. You only need to learn one thing more.”(Coelho, 2014, pg. 127). This is highly applicable within any learning environment, be it the classroom or the workplace, explaining a basic principle of life, that you will never know or learn unless you try. People can give a shot at explaining beliefs, ideals, philosophies etc. but you will never understand them because it is their own personal interpretations and understandings of them. The key in learning is application, and in order for you to learn, you have to venture out and gain experience. For instance, experiential learning occurring within our classrooms involving co-op placements in order to equip students with skills that they will only be able to grasp by being immersed in workplaces centred around their desired career is a great example.
‘The Alchemist’ teaches us “ the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drop of oil on the spoon.” (Coelho, 2014, pg. 34). To remain humble in life is what this teaches us. While we may enjoy the opportunity of living our dreams, along with the riches and the success that our world has to offer; we must remember to never let our selflessness turn into selfishness. We should chase our dream, but also remember the struggles we face in its journey, where we come from, and the people who have helped us in order to achieve it. For example, my parents have shaped the person I am today and will continue to in the near future because they are my support and well of wisdom. I will never abandon them for my own egocentric motives. We faced hardships as immigrants in a new country and and adjusting but now even though we have been accustomed to its ways, I have not forgotten where I come from and never will. Just the way my parents and my experiences are a part of me, they will be a part of my yet to be discovered dream as well.
“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”(Coelho, 2014, pg. 123) There is no practicality or logic behind love. You can’t possibly explain someone why you love them? You can go on listing things about them, that make you love them but if you have a fight or if you separate, that does not stop you from loving them does it? For me this is my family, particularly my little sister, she can be a trouble maker and sometimes doesn’t always appreciate the things I do for her; but I just love her so much. I want to be around her every second of the day, so much so that having her come back from school a couple minutes later than her standard time worries me. Similarly, even though my parents are divorced, they still love each other and are there for each other as friends; love is not always romantic and is infinite. “If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.”
Some Quote Analysis for Further Reading If Interested :)
“It is said that all people who are happy have God within them.”(Coelho, 2014, 132)
I believe in God and am certainly not discounting the chances of the universe having some form of higher power looking after all of us; however claiming that people who have God in their lives are happy and hinting that people who do not, aren’t entitled to happiness is extremely subjective. Having God in a person’s life is a way of his or her life, the entire reason behind our destiny is to define our way of life and they are all unique, some include God whereas others do not; that does not mean that those who do not have God in their lives are incapable of finding happiness. A good example of this is my father, he was born into a very religious family, then as he got older and developed a sense of self, he found he could not connect with God. He is now an agnostic, his principle belief is that if he can’t see something then will not believe in it. He is a practical man who values logic, but that does not make him right nor does it make him any less happier.. On the contrary, he is very content with a family who loves him a lot, he is a very caring and supportive father, and respects my beliefs enough to not interfere with my devotion towards God.
“At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.” (Coelho, 2014, pg. 20)
I found this saying to be contradictory to what the majority of the novel had to say about fate and this idea of “Maktub” (It is written). The novel constantly points out throughout, that whatever you do in life is written, it is the works of fate, and the whole universe conspires to make it come true because it is meant to be. This quote presents that we can control fate and that fate is a lie, yet Coelho continues to emphasize on the important role it plays in finding our destiny throughout the novel with the concept of “Maktub”. It states that fate is something that cannot be changed and I firmly believe in this idea, when something is meant to be, it is meant to be, whether we like it or not; we all see the dark in different capacities but sooner or later daylight has to break, right? Take for example, the Syrian civilians who are victims of the terrors of war day and night. How can they lose control when they never had control of fate in the first place?
You must always know what it is that you want.” (Coelho, 2014, pg. 56)
It is not true that we must always know what we want, part of finding yourself is being confused and willing to be disturbed. If you always know what it is you want from life, then life will have no purpose because its job is to give you experiences that help define what you want to gain out of them. Knowing what you want narrows your mindset and blocks the production of creativity, because a big chunk of being creative comes from the art of discovering. For example, I took Writer’s Craft in grade 12 and we got assignments that were very broad with minimal instructions. At first, I was complaining and panicking because I did not know what my teacher was expecting. But as I worked on the assignments , I got the chance to be creative and explore various outlets to express my thoughts. I would have not been able to do this if I had been given a specific criteria, that limits my abilities; this is what knowing what you want does, it hinders the ability to embark on journeys. In the end, it is not knowing what you want, that helps you identify what it is that you want. Another example is my degree at UTM, not knowing specifically what I want to pursue as a future career, my program is a flexible one where I can customize my own degree with specialist, majors, and, minors of my own choice to discover what I truly want.
References:
Coelho, Paulo.(2014). The Alchemist. New York, NY: HarperOne.
