Dream Big - 📚The Alchemist
So exhausted tonight, and lacking motivation. 😴
Had a great couple of weeks, but now getting weighed down by the busyness of life again. Trying not to! But life is full of ups and downs, and I can't expect it to be perfect all the time cause otherwise I'd be in Heaven! I've got a little longer to wait for that yet. 😅
I just finished reading 'The Alchemist' (the graphic novel version not the actual book). I'd never heard of it before now, but it has so many great life lessons and quotes. It's not a Christian book, but the author Paul Coelho was raised Catholic, and had a 'spiritual awakening' while walking the Camino de Santiago, which inspired him to finally become an author. You can learn a little more about him here.
Here's some of the quotes that stood out to me and why - I might not completely understand what the author was meaning, but this is me putting a Catholic spin on things. Skip to the end for some real life application, if you get bored!
(Note: If you don't want to spoil the whole story than maybe don't read this just yet!)
"What's the worlds greatest lie?" "It's this - that at a certain point in our lives we lose control of what's happening to us and our lives become controlled by fate."
Never give in to complacency, busyness, or just going along with life and whatever it brings! God always has a plan for us and can use us at every moment if we choose to listen and let Him!
"Why would a king talk with a shepherd?" and "I guess you don't think that a king would talk to a shepherd." "Not at all. It was shepherds who were first to recognise a king the rest of the world refused to acknowledge..."
I think there is great significance in the main character being a shepherd boy! God had a plan and a purpose in mind for every single one of us, no matter how ordinary we feel.
"...the most important thing is that you have succeeded in discovering your personal legend...it is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone when they are young knows what their personal legend is. At that point in their lives everything is clear and everything is possible...they are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen in their lives. But as time passes a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realise their personal legend."
Our 'personal legend,' = our purpose, what we are called/created to do
"Whoever you are, or whatever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something its because that desire originated in the soul of the universe."
All our desires are rooted in the Lord! The soul - the creator - of the universe. Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Him.
"To realise ones destiny is a person's only real obligation...people are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of."
Our ultimate destiny is to be with God in Heaven forever. To realise that and live a life worthy of that calling/destiny is what we were all created to do. There's no 'perfect' moment to begin. We can start living that way right now!
"In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own personal legends."
I agree. I often get so caught up in how I think other people might perceive me, and the expectations and labels of society that I let that belittle and define me. In reality God is the only one who can truly define me. And it's up to me to let Him.
"I am here between my flock and my treasure. I left my father and mother and the town castle behind. They have gotten used to me being away, and so have I. The sheep can get used to me not being there too...the sheep, the merchants daughter and the fields of Andalusia were only steps along the way to my personal legend."
As I read this I thought of my St Cath's girls - my little flock. I have left my parents and my family before for Christchurch, and I know I can do it again (although it will be hard!). But I think hardest will be moving on from my ministry role which I felt so called to, and from those relationships I have made. I need to realise, like Santiago, that this role is only a step along the way to my final destination (Heaven!).
"There is a force that wants you to realise your personal legend. It whets your appetite with a taste of success." and "God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to follow the omens that he left for you."
God, that invisible force, never leaves us alone, and always gives signs exactly when we need them. He whets our appetite and keeps us going. He wants us to succeed and be happy, to be all He created us to be!
"The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon" and "I don't live in the past or future. I'm interested only in the present."
Never forget the lessons you've learned from your past. But don't be so fixated with the past that you let that stop you from living in awe of the now.
The boy wept because he felt God was unfair, and because this was the way God repaid those who believed in their dreams. "I was happy and I made those around me happy...now I'm sad and alone...I'm going to hate those who have found their treasure because I have never found mine. And I'm going to hold on to what little I have, because I'm too insignificant to conquer the world."
It's OK to blame God sometimes, it's OK to feel like giving up. Yet like Santiago realised, it's not about how we feel, or how we make others feel. We keep getting up again. God is always with us no matter how alone we feel.
"If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world."
Language without words = Love!
"I will walk these streets relaxed and unhurried, so I will be able to read the omens. It will require lots of patience, but shepherds know of patience. I can apply what I learned as a shepherd to my quest to find my treasure. The old man was right. Everything is one."
Don't give up and like the oil in the spoon, don't forget what you have learnt from your past. Everything has a purpose even if we don't realise it at the time.
"Well why did you let me do it [clean the crystal]?" "Both you and I needed to cleanse our minds of negative thoughts."
Sr Marie, one of my spiritual directors has mentioned a few times how you can turn even the most ordinary of tasks, like doing dishes, having a shower or going for a walk into prayer. (e.g. as I clean these dishes make me clean too Lord!).
"...Now that I see how immense my possibilities are, I'm going to feel worse than when you arrived. Because I know the things I should be able to accomplish, and I don't want to do so."
Similar to what St Paul says in Romans 7:19 "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing." It is actually harder when you know what good you could be doing or when you see what you are capable of, but choose to not to do it.
"The old king...didn't say anything about getting robbed, or about the endless desert, or about people who know what their personal legend is but don't want to realise them. The old king didn't tell me that pyramids where just a pile of stones etc...." but It's like the old king had been here and left his mark and none of these people had ever met the old king. "On the other hand, the king said that he always appeared to help those who are trying to realise their own personal legend."
God doesn't tell us what will happen at every step of journey! If He did we might not step out in the first place. A bit like me - if I had known back in 2016 that I would minister to 3000+ young people, do some acting, MC a camp, be a college youth minister etc...I would have run away in fright! He gently takes us one step at a time, and if bad or challenging things happen along the way He is with us through them, still guiding and strengthening us even if we don't realise it. He knows what He's doing when He chooses not to reveal the whole picture to us straight away!
"Maybe the world has other hidden treasures. But I have a dream and I met a king. That just doesn't happen to anyone..." and "Everyone has his or her own way of learning things. His way isn't the same as mine. We are both on the quest for our own personal legend and I respect him for this."
Don't let the world sway you from realising and following your deepest desire! And everyone is on their own journey, so don't get caught up in comparison or jealousy.
"The closer one gets to realising his personal legend, the more that personal legend becomes his true reason for being."
"Don't think about what you left behind. Everything is written in the soul of the world, and there it will stay forever...If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."
"The existence of this world is merely a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that through it's visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teaching and the marvels of wisdom...all you have to do is contemplate a single grain of sand and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."
"When you possess great treasure within you, seldom are you believed."
"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure."
"You must also know of the soul of the world 'cause it's made of love.." As love rushed from his heart the boy began to pray...He saw that the soul of God was part of his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles."
"No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn't know it."
Life application:
I am most alive when I am actively seeking Gods will, actively discerning the 'personal legend' He has set out for me and moving towards it.
It's good and healthy to dream (I actually have a 'dream wall' in my room, where I've written down some of my hopes and dreams!). One of my dreams is to be in a musical, and I am on my way to achieving that now! I'm in the orchestra for Porirua Little Theatre's 'The Sound of Music.' Not quite a lead role, but this is closer than I ever thought I'd get, and one day maybe I'll get even closer! Since writing on my dream wall, I'm amazed at just how many dreams God has brought to fruition!
Right now I'm feeling like Santiago did at times - I'm not crying and wanting to give up. But I'm just a bit exhausted and not wanting to move forward yet.
Lord, you see me in my exhaustion. You see me in my laziness. You see me always. You know me better than I know myself. And I know that I will move forward from this. This tiredness won't last forever (I mean for one thing I'm planning on getting an early nights sleep so I'm sure that will help!). Deep down I still long to follow you and I have not forgotten how alive I feel when I am on the move! I know I am destined to be with you forever, and one day I will be! Till then help me to not miss the blessings of my time on earth cause I'm too lost in myself. Help me to keep getting back up and moving forward to the goal of Heaven. Even if I'm slow at least I'm moving! Dream your dreams in me.
Amen.
Song-inspiration:
Dream Big - song by Jamie Grace
I Have a Dream (Tangled)
[Note: This blog post was half started on August 29th, and finally completed & published 3rd November. Life got in the way! Beginning and end were from a time in August, but are still relevant to right now (November).]
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