The Alchemist - My view

Warning - A long Post

I had this book since 2 years.Started reading the book around 6 times. I am at SC now and this is one of the three books I brought from home and I started reading it yesterday, but this time I completed it.

I just wanted to write a review of the powerful lines used in the book.

Here's a layman's take on the quotes-

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."
- How do you define a dream? What is a dream?
Is it anything that comes to your mind when you are asleep? positive or negative? Any random thing? Or is it something that relates to destiny? Is it what we as children thought we wanted to achieve, but never bothered to take that path? Is it something which you want to do once in your lifetime to get the feel of that thing? Something like listening to Led Zeppelin live or watching a Champions league final with your team playing in it.
I thought what it meant and I came to a conclusion that it somehow relates to the long term goals and destiny and probably a bit of random things.
But then having a dream of watching Led Zepp live can't make you life interesting ? Can it?
And having a dream that is your final destination or lets say, you goal in life certainly makes life interesting, because with every moment you do something to realise your dream, you face new challenges and those challenges make your life interesting. Basically it says "Follow your dream, everything will be respected by nature, if you put your efforts in realising that dream."

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

"What's the world's greatest lie? It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."

I certainly believed in this lie until yesterday. I have just lived for 19 years and It may be stupid to say that,but, when I look back , I realise that at some point my life was actually controlled by my fate, not for long though, as age was on my side and taking control of life again isn't that difficult when you are young. But, if what Paulo Coelho says is considered to be correct ( I think it should be) then we should not let our life be controlled by any external forces. Its our lives and we are the masters. We should decide what the next step our life should take. It doesn't say that you have to against the flow decided by the nature. It means go with the flow, but control your lives in a way such that twenty years down the line you don't regret things you did or things you should have done.
I know it sounds too hypothetical , as everybody is bound to make mistakes and living a life without any regrets would be like living a perfect life.
But, whenever in life you make a mistake, make sure you learn from it and never repeat it. In that case, I guess we won't regret it 20 years down the line. (Will let you all know when 39 that I regret something even after learning from it or not)

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

*laughing*

I hope its true. but would you really buy that? I mean we all have really wanted something but in the end couldnt get it. So why would you in believe in it?
- Maybe because there is something that is better in store for you and you will get at the right time. After all the hand of god has already written everything and we are just choosing the options which she will unfold.It's like those old goosebumps story books , where the story unfolds as you want it to. Life is probably the same, at every crucial moment in life GOD gives you two choices and according to what you choose, the life unfolds.
One reason I would like to believe in that thought is, I really want many things in life, (NO, those are not over-ambitious) and I have given it all I had or will continue to do so and therefore I hope the universe is conspiring to help me achieve it.
( Just a weird memory of this thought - It wa said in the bollywood film "Om Shanti Om" and I watched it drunk with my friends and I remember shouting in the theatre that "Fuck! that's not true, that's not true"- This is one of my manipal moment.)

"When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision."

So true, So true.

This is one thought you will understand yourself or probably you have alread understood it , if you have taken a crucial decision in you life.

I don't think I need to say anything about it, except one thing , i.e, take a decision by weighing everything that matters to YOU and once you have decided , stick with it, no matter how strong the forces which push you back are. Initially the forces will be very strong, but once you persisit through it, nature will understand that you are firm and determined to go ahead and it will actually help you in reaching your destiny.

From today onwards,take complete control of your life. Decide, once and for all, to be master of your fate. Run your own race. Live life on your terms. Live life in a way that when you a look back at it on your death bed, you should not ask for more time from god.

It's so simply stated, "One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving."

Love as if you have never been hurt. I know all of you won't agree to that, but then that's how I would like to live life.
I have lived that way for quite a while, and to be truthful I will continue doing that, even if I have been hurt regularly. We just have one life, why waste it. I'm not saying love everyone, you have to perfect or fake to do that, I'm just saying Love if you want to love and there has to be no reason for loving someone and don't be scared to love someone, yes, you may not get the same response from the other person, but why care about it. You love because it brings you satisfaction, if it doesn't, well it's probably not love.

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer." "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself."

“Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World. "

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

These three quotes so beautifully compliment each other.

We fear and therefore we suffer.

We think twice before doing something which may have an impact on your life because we fear that it will bring suffering. We ask ourselves, what if I fail? what if she says 'NO'? what if it ends up all messed up? what if things don't go my way? What if........?

I do ask myself that and those questions are responsible for quite a few things being delayed in my life or never really happened in my life.

But, I promise today, I will try and free myself from every 'what if ' possible.

If you think it's good for you or if your pursuing your dream, never ever fear the failure. Once the fear of failure sets in, it's impossible that you will give your 100% in pursuing your destiny

No hardships ever lasts.No setback is forever. It may seem as though adversity will never go as we experience it but that's not the truth. And the hard times are the times that sculpt us into something better.
So the next time, you go through an adversity, go through it with a smile. Think as if it's making you a better human being. Think as if it's preparing you to face even more difficult situations in your life.

“I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living now.”

It says it all.

Live in the moment and enjoy as if today is your last day on planet earth.

I will like to end with just one more quote which is not from alchemist, but was told to me by a friend of mine while I was depressed-

"Forget your past! Everything will be fine. We weren't born to live in depression. We were born to live happily. That's why god made us humans, with a big brain and a bigger heart. Don't waste it. We're all very lucky to find so many close friends in life. Just live with the hope that we will meet again and relive all those good times again. God is just making us happier, but you've got to do your bit right! He can't do everything for you , that's why he made you human , so that you can do your bit, else he would have made you a ----------"
The blank at the end is because I don't know what would have god made me if he didn't want me to be happy.



P.S- It's not that I am living a perfect life by following everything I said in this post, but atleast I am trying to apply it in my life.
I believe I wouldn't have been able to understand The ALCHEMIST if I would have read it two years ago. It was this time where I could connect almost everything with my present and that's why I decided to write a blog and write what I feel.