"My heart is a traitor," the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses. "It doesn't want me to go on."
"That makes sense," the alchemist answered. "Naturally it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."
"That makes sense," the alchemist answered. "Naturally it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you've won."
"Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?"
"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to what you're thinking about life and the world."
"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"
"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams and wishes, and you will know how to deal with them.
"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to what you're thinking about life and the world."
"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"
"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams and wishes, and you will know how to deal with them.
You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow."
The boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert. He came to understand its dodges and tricks, and to accept it as it was. He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis, because, one afternoon, his heart told him that it was happy. "Even though I complain sometimes," it said, " it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. 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. We, their hearts, become fearful thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because when these things happen, we suffer terribly."
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.
The boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert. He came to understand its dodges and tricks, and to accept it as it was. He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis, because, one afternoon, his heart told him that it was happy. "Even though I complain sometimes," it said, " it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. 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. We, their hearts, become fearful thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because when these things happen, we suffer terribly."
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
"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 have never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve."
"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 have never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve."
So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon. That night, the boy slept deeply, and, when he awoke, his heart began to tell him things that came form the Soul of the World. It said that all people who are happy have God within them. And that happiness could be found in a grain of sand from the desert, as the alchemist had said. Because a grain of sand is a moment of creation, and the universe has taken millions of years to create it.
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Yes, I FINALLY got my hands on that book(& no, it`s not a love story, please) & I completed reading it in class just now HAHA. Oh btw, I started reading it last night at 10pm. I am totally in love with Paulo Coelho. Will go book-hunting again tomorrow. These days, I`ve been yearning to go to my secret place. You know, just lie down & read. I can do that for hours.
For some reason, this current background song makes me wanna... float. & I was gazing at the sky five nights ago, saw the moon & then it dawned on me that the most breathtaking moon I`ve ever seen was on 4th May 2007. The incidences that occured on that day were coincidentally very meaningful as well. So many moons I`ve seen after that day, but none compared to that.
"Is that the moon or the sun?" "It`s the moon, Fit." "But it`s so big. I`ve never seen it that big. Are you sure that's the moon?" "It's 10pm, Fit. & it's the moon, baby." "But it`s so big" "It`s special and beautiful."
"I want to sit on the table. No, maybe I want to sit next to you."
"I think I love you, you know." "You think so?" "No, I don`t. I know I do." "You know I've always loved you."
Makes me smile, then cry. With him, I lived for moments like that. Simple moments that took my breath away. Moments I can`t imagine myself having with anyone else.
Fit, I see you run and run and run your life away. And I don`t know what you are running away from because you keep returning to the starting point. You are running in circles. If you want to run, you run straight ahead, up the hill, zigzag, whatever, just not in circles. That`s what you are doing - running in circles. I don`t get you at all.
