The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I have always been intrigued by the works of Paulo Coelho. I have always been seeing posts about his books on some of the Facebook group pages I belong to. Most of the books are raving about how good his books are. It was only during the Big Bad Wolf Manila 2020 I was able to purchase a copy of his books. I bought The Deluxe Collection with 12 of his books. It was such a joy that I finally got hold a copy of his books.

During the fourth week of Enhanced Community Quarantine or ECQ in Luzon due to CoVid-19, I decided to unpack the book set. It was another moment of happiness for me. I like books, and I like them more when they are brand new and freshly unpacked from their protective seal.

The Deluxe Collection consists the following works by Mr. Coelho:

The Alchemist

Veronika Decides to Die

The Zahir

The Valkyries

The Witch of Portobello

The Pilgrimage

By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Eleven Minutes

The Devil and Miss Prym

The Fifth Mountain

I was thinking about what book should I start with. After taking some moments, I decided to follow the order of the books, by how it was arranged in the box. I began reading with The Alchemist, which is also his most famous work based on how readers from the Facebook group page fan about.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Compelling, Spiritual, and Nostalgic. These three words definitely describe my experience as I read the book. It is compelling, demanding to be read, to be paid attention to. The philosophy behind the theme of the book is something that I also strongly believe in. It feels nostalgic that I had the same thoughts with the book's theme or maybe the same with the writer. As I grew up and became an adult, I decided to tuck in that belief under the sheets of my forgotten or forced to be forgotten dreams. I believe in destiny, in God's given purpose in my life. More so, I believe in God. I thought He is just an entity to believe in, someone that needs to be recognized so I will not receive His wrath. I realized that my perspective and knowledge is just a speck of His true nature. I was missing a lot of who is God when I had not yet decided to seek Him more and desire for an intimate relationship with Him.

Reading The Alchemist gave a little boost in me of how amazing my God is, the Almighty God I am serving. I'd like the conspiracy of the universe. It is not black magic, it is not cult. It simply as it meant to be, that the universe will conspire to favor you, if you honestly and sincerely dream a dream and risk everything for that dream, it will even conspire to fulfill that dream of yours, if only if you truly desire it with all your heart and if it's anchored to God's original plan to your life. No matter where you are, no matter what happens as long you put your trust and faith in God, He will guide you to that path as you fulfill your purpose in life.

The shepherd sought his treasure in the story, he met people who were able to help him to fulfill his dream in the long run. It did not happen overnight, it took years, a long journey to fulfill his dream, to find his treasure. Along the journey he was able to meet the love of his life and discover that love is not taking possession of what is yours, rather it is letting go. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also is a significant line in the story. It has been mentioned quite a few times in the book and it is very familiar to me because it is something that can also be found in the Bible. It was mentioned twice from Matthew 6:21 and Luke 12:34. I love how this Bible verse was entirely the very clue to the shepherd where he can find his treasure. Have a heart that listens to God's plan in your life. A heart that is not deceitful, does not seek evil. Instead, a heart that is pure, made possible by Christ through the Holy Spirit. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.

May we all fulfill our God's given purpose in this life. God bless your strong heart!