If you are on any sort of spiritual journey, this book is a MUST read! The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a beautifully written, fictional story that is an insanely creative analogy for life and its deeper lessons. I can guarantee that once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down!
What Is An Alchemist?
Let’s start with the title: The Alchemist. What exactly is an alchemist and what is its significance in spirituality? Coelho describes alchemy by saying, “Remember what I told you: the world is only the visible aspect of God. And that what alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact with the material plane.” Essentially, alchemy is embodying the spirit of God. It is a merging of spirit with body that creates a new physical reality. Alchemy is the act of taking something spiritual, that cannot be seen, and bringing it into existence here on earth.
Becoming A Shepherd
The story-line of the book begins by introducing us to Santiago, the main character. Santiago decided to become a shepherd so that he could follow his dream of travelling the world. However, this was extremely unconventional in his society and family. Nonetheless, his parents supported him and wished him well on his journey. But none of them could have predicted how far the journey would actually take him…
At this time, shepherds had little to nothing in terms of material wealth, and Santiago was no exception. “He owned a jacket, a book that he could trade for another, and a flock of sheep. But most important, he was able every day to live out his dream.” This is a perfect example of the famous quote, “Less is more.” It may have appeared Santiago didn’t have much on the outside, but on the inside he was fulfilled because he was living out his passion. There is a great lesson to be taken away here. What is meant for you doesn’t need to make sense to anyone else. It doesn’t have to be the “normal” thing to do and you certainly don’t need anyone else’s approval. Believe in yourself and you will go farther than anyone could imagine.
Not Following The Flock
The flock of sheep that Santiago looks after become very symbolic throughout the book as well. The sheep are dependent on him and look to him for everything: food, water, protection, direction, etc. The sheep in the book can be thought of as the mass public. Many people are okay with giving up on their dreams so long as they have food, water, entertainment, and a little stability. They kind of go along with what everyone else is doing (the flock). Some people do not even realize what their dreams are because they’ve become so occupied with things outside of themselves, they’ve forgotten how to go within. Coelho sums this up by saying, “They trust me and they’ve forgotten how to rely on their own instincts, because I lead them to nourishment.”
Ironically, Santiago ends up having to get rid of his sheep in order to continue chasing his dream. Quite literally, he has a dream about a buried treasure and spends the entire book trying to find it. Every time it seems the boy has been taken off track by a major setback or is unsure of what to do next, everything works itself out right on time. A mysterious man shows up early in the book and teaches Santiago that, “…when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” As you go on to read the book, you find out that this is very true and that everything that happened to the boy along his journey served a purpose. This is also true in real life. Even when it seems things are not working out for us, we are merely being prepared for the lives we desire. And even if we don’t know how we’re going to achieve our dreams, the universe will guide us along the way. We don’t need to know how things are going to work out, we just need to know that they will work out.
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The Journey
Santiago ends up travelling across the desert in search of his treasure. He is travelling with a group of people and meets a man referred to as the Englishman. The Englishman shares that he is travelling across the desert so that he can meet the alchemist. The Englishman spends much of the journey across the desert reading and telling Santiago about all of the books he has read about alchemy. The Englishman is hoping to meet the alchemist so that he can show him how to turn metal into gold. Meanwhile, on the same trip, Santiago spends his time being very present and observing nature and the desert. When they arrive at their destination after having crossed the desert, the Englishman asks Santiago to help him find the alchemist. Santiago ends up finding a woman and asking her if she knows anything about the alchemist or where he lives. The woman, named Fatima, does know about the alchemist and tells him how to find him. Santiago instantly feels a strong connection to Fatima and ends up falling in love with her. Santiago tells the Englishman where he can find the alchemist and starts meeting with Fatima every day. He decides that he doesn’t want to leave to find his treasure any more. He just wants to stay with Fatima and build a life there with her.
The alchemist ends up seeking Santiago out one night and urges him to leave with him. Even though Santiago didn’t want to leave before, Fatima encourages him to follow his dream and assures him she will still be there when he returns. The boy ends up leaving with the alchemist and asks him why he came looking for him instead of the Englishman, for it was the Englishman who was seeking him. But the alchemist says the Englishman is not a true alchemist. He has only read about alchemy, but he doesn’t understand it with his heart. He doesn’t practice it in his daily life. This is interesting for us to read because it tells us that there is a difference between knowing something in our heads, and knowing it in our hearts. There is a difference between just reading about something, and truly implementing it in our lives. Only once we are able to feel truth in our hearts and live those truths out every day, will we be able to achieve our dreams. We don’t even have to “chase” them at this point, they will find us.
The Treasure Within
The alchemist ultimately ends up leading Santiago to his true treasure, which turns out not to be the chest of riches after all. The true treasure is found when Santiago realizes who he is and has always been. It is when he realizes not only is the entire universe is connected, but the entire universe is within him. He comes to the realization that, “It is we who nourish the Soul of the World, and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse.” All of the life lessons Santiago learned along the way turn out to be the real treasure. The same can be said for all of us. We may think that we want success or wealth or fame, but true fulfillment comes from going inward and knowing ourselves and nature.
However, Santiago does end up finding an actual treasure chest and returning to the love of his life. Notice that this doesn’t happen until after he has come to know himself deeply. Another takeaway from this is that true love is not limiting. True love will not interfere with your life’s purpose. Rather, true love will support and encourage you to follow your dreams and find yourself. If something is meant for you, it will find you and you cannot miss it.
Conclusion
There are so many amazing lessons to be taken away from this fictional book, I can’t even fit them all in this post. If you enjoyed this blog post, I encourage you to purchase the book and read it for yourself because there’s SO much more you will learn from actually reading it. I assure you, this post is no substitute for the entire book! Paulo Coelho is an amazing author and did a beautiful job illustrating many of life’s deepest truths throughout this book. I will forever be grateful that this book found me, and hopefully it will find you too.
*Note: All quotations derived from Coelho, Paul. The Alchemist. New York, HarperCollinsPublishers, 1993.
