BOOKS can become very GREAT FRIENDS!!!

THE ALCHEMIST INSPIRED ME and still does to this day..

“When you want something, all the universe

conspires in helping you to achieve it”.

This powerful quote from Paul Coehlo’s The Alchemist, is just one (out of many) of the book’s messages that helped me turn my life around!!... and brought me back to life!

I had a dream which I had been harbouring for quite a few years which was to become a psychotherapist. I started the procedures and  got the chance to get into this special training. It took over my life for two years and snapped me out of my loneliness and grief  which had engulfed me. To boot, I met some great persons that quickly became my new friends and that are always there for me still to this day!

Going through this process gave me another purpose in life and confirmed my ability as an empathetic and also a creative person. I, also like Santiago, came back to myself with all that I possess and used my personal ‘treasures’ to propel myself into a much better way of living and gave me another perspective on life! 

In this story, Santiago, a young shepherd, decides to give up his current life and to follow his dream of finding lost treasure. When reading about Santiago’s adventures, I was given the words to describe something I had always felt: I had the power to make my life what I wanted it to be.  Through this majestic tale, Coelho provides us with an amazing journey towards discovery, but leaves it to youand me, to paint the picture. The Alchemist speaks about the importance of seeking to fulfill our life’s dreams and destiny, if you believe in such a concept.

As we grow older, people begin to forget about all these wonderful aspirations that make being a child so magical.  We lose sight of our hopes for the future.  Every child has amazing fantasies of what they want to be when they grow  up, and Coehlo calls this our “personal legend”, or a person’s purpose for living.  When your personal legend is revealed to you, nothing can stand in the way of achievement.  By following his legend, Santiago learns from others that life is about the experiences we undergo, and these events lead us to our goals.     

This book spoke to me as no book has ever spoken to me before.  Every evening I pick out at random a page out of the book and read it before going to sleep and,  every morning when I walk out my door, I remind myself that it is in my control to make that day unlike any other one.  I realize that in order to grasp the full picture of life. It also helps me  to pay attention and enjoyto the smaller things that make our world so magical.  Much like the phrase ‘CARPE DIEM’, which I had adopted earlier on in life, but without ever really understanding its powerful message... The Alchemist inspires me to make everyday something new and special.  A life of habits and patterns has no excitement; it lacks the spirit and intensity that makes human life so amazing. 

When I look back on my life, I want to be able to recall a million different accomplishments that I have achieved.  I don’t want life to be monotonous, but to be a process of creating ... So I will always refer to these moments when I feel that my life is not interesting or that on a specific day nothing seems to be going right….WRONG!!! There is always something there worth to explore and enjoy even though…

* An anecdote: To this day I have no idea 'in the world' where the first copy of The Alchimist I had  is on this planet. I soooo loved it that I gave it to a friend and told him that he had to do the same, and pass it on ... WHERE are you my friend? And WHO are you inspiring today?

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!      SUZANNE