The Alchemist

For the last several months, I've been hearing nothing but great reviews from friends about this book, The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. It is about not avoiding our destinies. The author urges people to follow their dreams and in doing so, we find "God", happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation. It was interesting to me how popular this book was. The idea is simple. It's a reoccurrant theme in Movies and books.

When I read the book, I was too focused on the treasure he would find at the end and was a little disappointed at the ending. However, when I read it the second time, knowing what I knew about the ending, it hit me. The meaning of "treasure" lies where your heart is not the physical treasure at the "end of the rainbow". The treasure was the journey, the discoveries, the myriad of people he met, and the wisdom he acquired.

Have I fulfilled my dreams? I had so many dreams as a child and I still have dreams I want to fulfill, professionally and personally. Personally, I've always wanted to be able to buy a home. In the past, I have had obstacles that prevented me from buying. I live in Santa Barbara where a two bedroom townhome goes for half a million. That is my biggest obstacle right now. I can't afford it. Nonetheless, I put an offer on a condo recently (before reading this book - must be an omen). Interesting, according to Coelho, if you pursue your dreams the universe will conspire with you to make it happen.