The time before Classic

 My most recent adventure was one borrowed from my Aunt. Having spoken to her about the way I had fallen in love with Mitch Alboms’ book ‘The five people you meet in heaven’ she gave me a second of his books and another she thought I may be interested in. She was SPOT ON!

‘The Alchemist’ – By Paulo Coelho

As you can see, in recent weeks I have ventured away from the typical romantic, stereotypical chick flicks that I LOVE to read and instead have been broadening my horizons, and in doing so I’ve surprised myself.  I love the thrill of a mystery story as in John Green’s novel, I love the honesty and emotion in Matt Haig’s novel, and recently I loved the traditional proverb way of writing of Paulo’s book; It follows the life of a boy, who interestingly remains unnamed throughout the piece, he’s a shepherd on first appearance however throughout the book he works towards finding what he’s destined for meeting many new people and learning many of life’s importance’s along the way.

I was intrigued by this book for its large array of life messages, traditional teachings and the way such strong morals were portrayed. Most notably was Coelho’s respect for religion and his portrayal of how everyone in the tale respected each other and their own Gods. For example there was a short moment where they were just about to embark on a trek across the desert and this was when the leader spoke up and said for each of them to pray to their own God for safety whilst he prays to his own. That level of respect was so refreshing to see portrayed in an era where a lot of battles are stemmed from religious conflicts all over the world.

As well as that I fell in love with the theme of following your destiny and doing it now rather than waiting for destiny to find you. One line that truly stood out to me on page 103

‘Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.’

This was a beautiful concept that although you may be late to doing something at least it didn’t take you longer to do. In a sense its similar to New Year Resolutions, its better starting on the first of January with a new beginning rather than waiting 5 years to exercise, or get motivated to achieve your dreams. I suppose it’s very similar to something in my life, why wait until later when it could be done now? Let the preparations begin and I’m going to do something I could have done years ago, but I’d rather do it now rather than in another few years’ time.  

What could you be doing to make a difference now to change your life for the better as the boy did?