Inspired by visualizing my life journey as part of ‘The Book Club’
“Dreams are made to be followed. Life is meant to be lived. Some books are meant to be read, loved, and passed on.” — stated Paulo Coehlo on the backside of his book The Alchemist, which I am currently reading within The Book Club.
The Book Club was established as a new initiative of the Nova Mindspace Club and when we were sitting next to the beach, introducing our first book, I became curious about reading inspirational books again.
A bit of context first: The Nova Mindspace Club is a Nova Student Club that aims to create an environment where members gain new experiences and expand their knowledge on topics that are often neglected in the everyday life. The Book Club introduces books that are linked to this purpose, and so we are reading The Alchemist as our first book. We combine reading with several tasks to enhance our understanding of the book while also focusing on identifying situations, characters or thoughts mentioned by the author that might be somehow mirrored in our own life. (Nova Students Clubs: https://www.novasbe.unl.pt/en/community/students)
At the opening meeting, we were sitting together in a sunny and calm location next to the sea. When we discussed the conceivable merits of reading, I grasped that participating in The Book Club is an enriching experience to me: It offers the opportunity to learn new things, including perhaps about oneself, and provides the chance to broaden one’s horizons.
Acknowledging the Book Club as an inspiring initiative might be related to the fact that it forced me to prioritize time for reading and I am greatly enjoying it. Reading a book together with others is motivating and animates me to read more frequently and implement it as a routine in my day-to-day life. To further enhance our reading time, we play Book Club Bingo between the meetings. So, we do not simply read a book but combine it with discussions, interpretations, and activities. Hence, I feel like it allows me to consciously take more time to think not only about the topics stated in the book but also about people and situations I encounter in my own life. For instance, we are doing an activity depicting different characters that the shepherd (the main character of the book) meets on his journey. It is interesting to look more deeply into each character and learn why and how they shaped the main character’s life path. Thinking about my own life and reflecting on the people I have met and how they may have influenced my decisions and life journey in general, is very thought-provoking. Considering it from a design thinking perspective, the definition of personas in the context of a new project might be a related approach. When launching a new product or service it is crucial to consider involved people and why and how they may influence the journey of the project. Besides identifying characters, we are going to draw our life journey once we finished the book. The goal is to visualize our life path including people, situations, and decisions that have inspired and influenced us on the way. Hence, another task that intensifies the reflection on how distinct people or situations may have affected my path of life so far.
Participating in the book club has been, and continues to be, an inspiring drive as it is not simply about reading a book but reaching a deeper understanding of the book as well as topics beyond it. Talking with other club members and exchanging thoughts evokes different impressions and perspectives. Hence, the Book Club is inspiring to me as it offers a great opportunity to engage with new content and different topics while also broadening one’s horizons.
