Last night I used my iPad to buy two new books. I purchased The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. I picked these two books from a list of about 50 books that aspiring writers should read (as told by Gotham Writer Workshop). I chose American Psycho because I saw the movie and I heard that the book was even more fucked up. I chose The Alchemist because... well, I can't really tell you why I picked it. I know a lot of people had to read it in high. I never did. So I guess it was just the being familiar with the title more than I was with other books on the same list. This morning, as I was sitting in my office, I took out my iPad and began to read. You may be asking yourself, what the hell does this guy do that he can sit and read at work. If I told you, you would probably get pissed off because your taxpayer's dollars are paying for it.
As I opened the Kindle App on my iPad I decided to read The Alchemist. I started the first page. I then didn't stop reading until I was finished.
The Alchemist, if you haven't read it, is a straight forward story about a shepherd boy named Santiago who has a dream and, through his journey to find the meaning of his dream, leaves everything he has ever known behind to see his dream come to fruition. He meets several people along the way and each encounter is a step closer to his enlightenment. The key point is listen to you heart. If you listen to your heart you will find your calling. To ignore you heart is to ignore your true purpose in life.
There are so many passages of wisdom and as I read it I realized something. I am this little shepherd boy. I am starting a journey and following my heart into something that I will not, at least until the end, know the outcome of. The more and more I read, the more and more I could draw parallels to my own life.
"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being tested"
Holy shit that's me! I only stumbled on writing because my wife wanted me to take a college course during the spring and I just so happen to pick a writing class. Then, this last little bit of writer's block was one of many tests that will lead me to my overall victory. It was a small test, but a test none the less.
"The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more the Person Legend becomes his true reason for being"
Everyday that I didn't write this week was followed by a day of thinking of nothing else. It felt like I had something to say, but what that something was kept eluding me to the point of obsession. My heart felt sick everyday I didn't put something down. All I could think of was all the time I was wasting not writing.
"When you possess great treasures within you, and you try to tell others of them, seldom or you
believed"
I have to stop worrying about whether or not the things I write here are stupid. Nobody is really even following me. Unless you are one of my Facebook friends then you are just doing it out of curiosity and spoiler alert! I don't have very much interesting to say. I have been battling with myself over the past five days to write something meaningful, but forgetting about the one objective I had when I started this whole endeavor in the first place; to write anything.
"People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them... their hearts become fearful... of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sand"
I can't be afraid of failure. This will be the death of my dreams. Fear of something that is going to happen, because I will fail sometimes, will end something that can be great before it has even begun.
In closing this book has really helped give me a sense of purpose to my writing. It has made me see that what my heart is telling me will ultimately end in my happiness, whether it is goals accomplished, or from dreams not yet obtained but pursued. The journey is what makes it an experience and I have to make that journey. There will be obstacles. I will be tested and fail more times than not. I will, however see this dream of mine through.
I am Santiago the shepherd boy. I am the Alchemist....
No comments:
Post a Comment