What the Heart Believes, It Can Achieve
“My heart has its dreams, it gets emotional, and it’s become passionate over a woman of the desert.” (Coello p.123) In The Alchemist by Paulo Coello, Santiago, a young shepherd boy starts his journey from Andalusia in Spain, all the way to the Great Pyramids in Egypt in search of treasure to fulfill his dreams. He realizes that he has to listen to his heart in able to achieve his destiny, and to figure out what a true love means. During his travels, he encounters a series of obstacles, meets many benevolent supporters and receives enlightenment from them. In this soul-searching journey, he learns more about his own self and desires, in which he recognizes the fact that his heart holds great dreams and ambition, and that being human, he may tend to be irrational and emotional. He also falls in love, becoming passionate over a woman, thus in a sense, giving her his heart. In the end, Santiago finally successfully achieves his destiny through determination, passion and an adventurous spirit.
Santiago’s determination helps him achieve his dreams and his destiny. At one time during the journey, Santiago becomes befuddled and troubled when he meets Fatima, a woman of the desert. He falls in love with her and believes that they are soul- mates; born for each other. He’s almost overcome by the desire to just stay with Fatima in the desert and to give up his dreams, but he is able to conquer it because he is determined to continue his quest. He knows that seeking his treasure and achieving his destiny are the most important things for him to do at that time, and that he can return to Fatima later, so he keeps on travelling. He also appears determined when he thinks to himself, ‘It’s in the desert that I have to search for my treasure. If I don’t find it, I can always go home. I finally have enough money, and all the time I need. Why not?’ (p.62) Santiago is determined to find treasure and to fulfill his dreams. He believes that his destiny will be accomplished once he finds his treasure, and this staunch belief ignites a passion within him that cannot be doused. He also shows determination when he decides to earn more money and start a new life, continuing his journey, after a stranger deceives him and later absconds with all his money. He could have just given up everything and been depressed all day, but he was determined enough to make a wise choice. Thus, determination and passion combined gives Santiago the strength and courage to continue his odyssey and to face any obstacles that he may encounter.
Santiago’s passion propels him forward, encouraging him to never admit defeat. He has a passion, and a yearning for getting to know new things that are related to his dreams, destiny and desires. He repeatedly asks Alchemist, “Why do we have to listen to our hearts? … Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?..,” (p.123) as he tries to understand why one should follow one’s heart. “Every second of the search is an encounter with God,” the boy told his heart. “When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” (p.125) Santiago ponders over this, and it shows his great passion because he honestly believes that every hour of his life is being spent in pursuance of his dream and that it will definitely be realized, and he would somehow eventually find his treasure. It’s this passion that makes him realize that his heart holds many desires, and it makes him determined to achieve everything his heart longs for. His heart wants not just the treasure, but also the love of Fatima. Thus, his passion also manifests in the form of love. Santiago resolves to seize every opportunity that comes his way. He moves steadily and resolutely towards his destiny with passion, but he is also fearless and adventurous, always looking forward towards his dream.
It is his adventurous spirit that launches Santiago’s quest. “That wind had brought the Moors, yes, but it had also brought the smell of the desert and of veiled women. It had brought with it the sweat and the dreams of men who had once left to search for the unknown, and for gold and adventure-and for the Pyramids. The boy felt jealous of the freedom of the wind, and saw that he could have the same freedom. There was nothing to hold him back except himself. The sheep, the merchant’s daughter, and the fields of Andalusia were only steps along the way to his destiny,” (p.27) because he’s adventurous, he boldly abandons his life as a shepherd and plunges into another world unknown for his destiny and a treasure, in which the consequences are uncertain. Even after losing all his money, he persists by getting himself a job to earn whatever that was lost. It had crossed his mind to simply give up and go back to being a shepherd, but his adventurous spirit overcame his fears and he went on to continue his mission. Later, even when he could have remained in the safety and comfort of Fatima’s companionship and love, he chooses instead to continue his journey in fulfilling his dream and destiny with an adventurous spirit. “I’m going away,” he said to Fatima. “And I want you to know that I’m coming back. I love you because…” Santiago loved Fatima a great deal but he couldn’t give up pursuing his destiny because he was adventurous. Hence, Santiago, being adventurous, was able to accomplish his quest and destiny auspiciously.
Santiago actually ends up in the same place where he began after his long journey, which was an Andalusian countryside. He finds out that the treasure he was seeking is buried beneath a sycamore tree, at a ruined church, and in the end fulfills his dream. To have come all the way here, it was Santiago’s deep determination, relentless passion and tremendous spirit of adventure that propelled him to accomplish his destiny and dreams. All these combined gives Santiago the courage and strength to continue on his journey and also to vanquish any obstacles in order to fulfill his dreams. Therefore, anyone can achieve their destiny, as long as they have determination, passion and a sense of adventure, or even just the desire for it with a true and sincere heart.
I'm open-minded. Being open-minded allows me to participate well in my destiny, because it gives me many chances and lets me listen to my heart without any doubt. Listening to your heart to acieve your destiny is rather important, so I always try to listen to it and it is easy for me because numerous things are possible for me to do with ease when my mind is 'open'. I get many opportunities as well because open mind makes me positive and optimistic, so I try out or endeavor anything that I think would be good or helpful for achieving my goals, dreams, and destiny. For example, like in school, when a teacher suggests me to do something new or something that really challenges me, I always accept it because I don't know the outcome yet. My heart just tells me to try out and that 'I' can do it. Therefore, I'm open-minded and that helps me realize the significance of listening to my heart and how to do that; it surely propells me to accomplish my dreams, destiny.
No comments:
Post a Comment