The bright, entrancing cover of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho will never be enough to capture the beauty lying within its pages. Not only is the story of Santiago adventurous and captivating, but his adventure can be applied to the lives of every single reader indulging in the pages, as we learn alongside Santiago about life being an interwoven phenomenon of nature and experience.
Before looking into the story, there is a quote on the back of the book: “To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.” Destiny seems to describe the events that are meant to happen in your life — what you are meant to achieve. With so many opportunities present in our world today, we want to throw ourselves at any opportunity we possibly can and achieve as many goals as possible. Of course, achieving personal goals is an incredible and satisfying thing, but it can be safely said that the lessons learned in your journey to achieving a goal are much more important. The lessons learned in achieving your goal are the key to being successful and grateful after the goal is reached. Destiny, more importantly, are the lessons that need to be learned in order for a goal to manifest itself into reality.
Santiago ponders about a dream he had of someone telling him to find treasure by the Egyptian pyramids. Dubious, Santiago wonders if he should follow the dream. His entire life, he had wanted to travel and learn new things, but his dream of finding the treasure makes him question whether he is meant for something greater in life. With this in mind, Santiago goes on to meet three people who fuel his beliefs and persistence in finding the treasure. Firstly, Santiago meets a Gypsy woman who ensures him that his dream is in fact, a sign that he is meant for something great. Solidifying his dreams Santiago goes on to meet a man that claims he is a king. This king, who was once a stranger to Santiago, tells Santiago different facts about his life that no one ever knew. He gives Santiago two stones that guide him throughout his journey. With this, Santiago learns about personal legends. Personal legends refer to the things one is meant to achieve in life. Santiago’s personal legend is to find the treasure that he is sure is at the Egyptian pyramids. While he ventures in search of his treasure, Santiago learns that everyone has a personal legend, and that personal legend is the exigence of every action and belief a person has. We live for our personal legends and to achieve them.
Santiago learns that life is an entity that depends on people and that life gifts people with omens to reach their personal legend. Following these omens contributes to success, and reminds Santiago, as well as his readers, that the world can be made a better place. Everyone can make the life of their dreams by having the courage to overcome any obstacle.
The third and most important individual Santiago meets is The Alchemist himself. The Alchemist teaches Santiago that nature and experience are interconnected. According to the Alchemist, it is important to listen to one’s heart, as the heart contains the dreams of the individual. People tend to not listen to their hearts due to fear and uncertainty that the heart wants something that will lead the person to leave their comfort zone. Therefore, it is the responsibility that one has to oneself to listen to their heart and to distinguish the desires of the heart and the omens that life gives. Because it is intimidating to leave one’s comfort zone, it is also important for one to listen to fears and tricks that the heart may feel.
Connecting the self to the powers of the world is the key to a successful union with life.
