“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.”
from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
I am thoroughly engrossed in reading The Alchemist, a whimsical tale of a young Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago. On the advice of a Gypsy woman, he travels from his homeland of Spain to the Egyptian pyramids in search a hidden treasure. On the way, he meets a man who calls himself King, a shopkeeper, and an alchemist, all of whom are key players in Santiago’s quest. What begins as a journey to find worldly goods becomes a discovery of the treasures within. It is a tale of the importance of listening to our hearts, and the ultimate elation at having realized our life’s destiny.
In the introduction, the author speaks eloquently of the importance in paying attention to our personal calling. He says, “It is the path that Gd chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don’t all have the courage to confront our own dream.”
Obstacles to following our dreams:
(from here on in, I have quoted or paraphrased the author’s words as his words are so eloquent)
1. We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. As the years accumulate, so do the layers of prejudice, fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible But it’s still there.
2. Love: We know what we want to do, but we are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We don’t realize that love is just a further impetus, not something that will prevent us from going forward. Those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on our journey.
3. Fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for our dream suffer far more when it doesn’t work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: ”Oh well, I didn’t really want it anyway.” We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is not easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. We must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favor, even though we may not understand how.
4. Fear of realizing our dream. Oscar Wilde said: “Each man kills the thing he loves.” The mere possibility of getting what we want fills the soul of the ordinary person with guilt. We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we don’t deserve to get what we want either. We forget about all the obstacles that we overcame, all the suffering we endured, all the things we had to give up in order to get this far.
This is the most dangerous of the obstacles, because it has a kind of saintly aura about it: renouncing joy and conquest. But if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of Gd, you help the Soul of the World, and you understand why you are here.
My life’s destiny is to guide people to finding their life destiny and stop playing small. We all have Gd given gifts and we are meant to use them to the fullest extent possible.
What is your dream? Is it close to the surface or buried deep within your soul?
