It takes courage to succumb to one’s destiny; what read like a 2nd grade chapter book was a book that contained perhaps some, if not most, of the Universal truths the human existence need for the betterment of humanity and advancement of our collective soul of consciousness…a much deeper truth that is the universal language of “the soul”, and that, spoke to the side of my inner self-realizations I’ve had to came to acceptance over the years.
[Now in my younger days I used to…](that Pharcyde be playin’ in my head whenever I ponder the youth I lived) see myself as a writer; precocious as I was, my sister taught me to read the newspaper from front to back as a pastime since the age of 4; then in the years pursued I was left alone wondering the streets of downtown Taipei in the vicinity of our family restaurant where every shop every street vendor knew my name, though mostly I spent my summer days within the confines of the five floors of a local bookstore, reading every book that detonated my curiosities of the world. Over time with the learning of a new language that is English in a foreign country that was Canada I’d forgotten how much that meant to me, to express artfully through words, to impose ideas and explore the world through writing. With reading this book, which resonated with so many parts of my “self” I’ve came to discover, and cultivate, and yet sometimes still forgetting, and now re-discovering again, through the simple elegant words of Paulo Coelho, the scribe whose humble book possesses a Guinness World Record of most translated by a living author, The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream.
There’s so much to be said about the notion of “following your dream”; what once seemed like endless possibilities with absolutely no restrictions of our minds or any ideas of limitation at the beginning of life, shifting, through the taught conditions of cultures, upbringings, parental instillment of their own buried wishes and dreams, or even just circumstances that we as humans get born into, to only then, perhaps through chance and choice, recognize again what it was that we used to see ourselves as, our own ultimate incarnation of self, at our own most fulfilled manifestation. This book, in its uncomplicated ways, conveyed and elucidated some very intricate existential queries that surely passes through any evolving person’s mind at one point or another. In our truest hearts of hearts, one’s contention in life boils down to the very essence of living, reason of being…just what does it mean to have this life, and really, why am I here? This book helps to begin to answer some of those questions with undeniable clarity.
Just as unconventional as I am, this post will not serve as a book review of sorts, or be quoting as such. There are many sites, I’ve come to unearth, that does that job just fine (one google search of Coelho and an abundance of famous quotes immediate present themselves). Instead, I would like to showcase some of the more personal-truth-affirming within the context of the book, in pictorial form, in no particular order.
the importance of the Soul of the World (so It is named here) and how to sustain one’s connection with it is stated simply here; by continuously being aware of these internal changes of “weather” inside ourselves, one can come to a solid understanding of the laws of manifestation, and the Universe’s cause and effect.
how many times have we wondered why our lives have not changed for “the better”, while undermining the fact that it has not changed because we had not wanted it to? or the simple truth that is the change that we allow ourselves to accept become the fuel that moves the present to the (dream) future? are you ready for that change? as with any change comes obligation.
at times I too have lost track of my own destiny, and became disenchanted by the very definition of it, particularly when I wasn’t looking out for signs, or “omens” that is provided when the eyes and heart are open to receiving; the pertinence that is continuous openness in all facets of being aids particularly well when heeded, even when seemingly negative. but it is in duality that the Soul of the World lives, positive and negative are two sides of the same coin, sweet without sour is not as sweet as it can be.
I began thinking about all the times I have experienced this “getting-used-to”, also known as taking-people-for-granted; instead of accepting people as they are at any given moment, the assumption they are always going to be the person I met when I initially met them takes place, thereby inhibiting their freedom to evolve (or not), and consequently squashing my own evolvement. had I too became impatient at some point with another’s stagnant choices? who am I to pass such prudence onto others?
even here it is evident that the cleansing properties of crystal crosses cultures and transcends eras; the idea of alchemy learned not in a lab or classroom, but in daily life, is like reading this book for me, or the freewheeling epiphanies that come up during yoga, or tending to my garden and feeling its ebb and flow of life and death.
how truthful of an observation by the alchemist…how many times I too have uttered (potentially) hurtful words unintentionally not thinking it meant much; even if it was not said out of malice it is not always easy to be mindful of what one utters, to self or to others…how many times have I too said unkind, even injurious utterance to myself not knowing (or believing) it could do any damage to my inner psyche?
even with the wave of spiritual awakening that slowly came to and now finally gaining some traction with the general public, it remains a tricky undertaking when one holds a unique talent and has decidedly share it openly. central to my own observation that the world may finally be ready for true individualism could have something to do with the verity of the geographical locus I decided upon some years ago: New York, the epicenter of ALL things, and the layers of complexity they have long been endowed with.
in my most trying moments, I am often reminded by my previous experience that everything comes at its own time, but somewhere between the start of the journey and imagined (because no journey truly ends, it either stays stagnant or evolves) endpoint there lies a moment when one is tested, beyond reasons of logic or understanding; and even before then there exists many more moments when it was just a practice run, to gain more experience on the given subject, just to see if we’ve truly engrained in ourselves the little lessons before the “real thing” arrives.
the idea of attempting a feat that is bigger than ourselves can feel unnerving, and not necessarily of failing miserably but succeeding…AND what is to come next if we succeeded everything we set out to do? the fear shows itself in the existence of the question.
at times I’ve too felt my heart freeze, not knowing which way to follow or which way to lead; I then found a reentry by learning to heed it’s voice through feelings, and it lead me on my own path back to the ol’ ticker.
when I have felt purposeful in my risings each morning, the days, no matter what I encounter and experience, I found courage and enjoyment knowing that it is all going towards something bigger, to keep forth, however minute the steps may seem.
to die knowing I have not a regret to my name, to know I have done my best to better myself and help others do the same, would be like the boy knowing he had experience all that he set out to do, and more.
the fantasy that is a “soulmate” for each of us on Earth, lives in the deepest crevice of my own heart, remains to be verified.
sometimes the share of a knowing look is all we need to understand the vast unknown that is the whispers of the heart.
love, the indecipherable unbelievable incredible thing that one can only truly understand in the very moments of its frail and ephemeral existence.
I always imagined, there’s a net of invisible lines, casted by the “Soul of the Universe”, to bring about at precisely the “right” (the idea of right and wrong can be so loaded, but for this here it is employed for the true essence of the word) moment, the thing that you need most, and the world that is made up of all things, even those intangible or seemingly lifeless, can serve as an envoy.
in the grand scheme of things, what is a week of waiting? what is an day of training? what is a hour of meditating? so long as we get there…
to live with purpose can be such an empowering and liberatingly profound existence.
the vast creativity and innovation exhibited thus far by the perfectly-imperfect mortal beings that are homosapiens, especially comrades who I’ve come to know, can sometimes feel daunting to juxtapose ourselves against; on the flip side of the token, it can provide boundless inspiration to leap towards.
the fear of achieving can give the illusion of being vastly more immense, than the fear of failing. neither fear gives way to properly assess the steps to truly accomplish, what is so central to the fulfillment of our beings, our destiny.
it takes an almost redundant repetition to absorb the idea that is destiny; what is meant to be will be, sometimes beyond circumstances comprehensible, but recognition when it IS happening can be supportive to making a fitting choice.
it is a bitter pill to swallow when someone shows us the darker sides of humanity; it is even harder to overcome and undo the damage that so easily becomes “us”. without at least some awareness, these negative notions can become detrimental, in many ways more than one.
the principle of favorability is as decisive as good ol’ fashioned hard work; if a balance of the two can be arrived at, the outcome is sure to impress.
in other words, no one else can be (nor should be) the motivation of your intent, oftentimes we lose sight of our own paths, our own visions, living up to what others propose. but a detour should never be underestimated as useless.
one pluck at the google search engine the words “principle of favorability”, out comes the millions of sites citing the Alchemist as the source.
all photo by moi – a visual documentist
Thee (Whole)listics 
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