Heard a lot about The Alchemist?
Everyone recommends it, no?
But what’s in it that makes people go crazy?
To be honest, I was annoyed at the fame.
So I read the book myself and found out.
Yes, the story mentioned in the book is garbage, stupid and comical.
Some would hate it for that.
But there’s something deeper I found.
Here’s my interpretation:
We don’t know where our treasure is.
That treasure is far away and we have to strive to get it, right?
Wrong.
The Alchemist proves that the treasure is right there, in you.
STILL, you can’t have it.
Why?
Because you are not worthy yet of decoding it.
The code is right there but you can’t figure it out.
Then how do you figure that out?
Answer: You have to undergo your journey.
‘The longest way round is the shortest way home.’
There’s no way to find your treasure from the comfort of where you are.
You HAVE to get uncomfortable; try new things and fail before understanding everything.
Steve Jobs calls it ‘connecting the dots. He says, “you can only connect the dots looking backwards”.
When you will get there, you will find the treasure right there where you started.
But you will ask, what changed now vs when I started?
The answer: YOU. You changed.
You died and resurrected as a new human capable of much more than when you began.
Taking the leap, you become a new person; like a rebirth.
T.S Eliot knew about this when he wrote:
“The end of all our exploring will be
To arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
T. S. Eliot
So maybe Paulo Coelho wasn’t crazy after all?
Or was he?
Wait, the story hasn’t ended yet.
I got curious about this man and researched him.
And I found something startling.
Paulo as a kid was thought of as crazy.
His parents would put him into mental institutions when he was 17.
He wanted to write but took his parent’s advice of joining a law school.
But a year later, he ran from his school and became a hippie.
He travelled across North America, South America, Europe and Mexico.
Got addicted to drugs.
Somehow became a songwriter and got married.
In case you have read his book:
you would remember a mention of crossing the Sahara desert.
He crossed a 500-mile desert on foot himself.
This journey made a deep impact on him spiritually.
He had a realization that even though he had everything, something was missing.
He needed to...guess what…write!
Among his many books, The Alchemist portrays HIS personal journey of finding his treasure.
What was his treasure?
His writing.
He wrote this book in under 2 weeks.
The fictional story of The Alchemist that people make fun of,
is actually based on his personal journey!
Language learning update:
2 days back I completed the 75th day of learning German, a feat I can’t believe I achieved just by replacing mindless scrolling on Instagram with the Duolingo language learning App.
The result?
I am getting closer to my A1 level certification.
Saving 15 minutes a day for an activity you always wanted to do compounds an effortless achievement. Proud moment and a lesson in productivity!
Picture of the month:
Meet Hazel. A happy doggo who loves to run, play and sightsee.
I looked into her eyes and I couldn’t differentiate between me and her.
She has dark big black eyes with a tinge of golden encircling the iris.
If you enter her room be ready to face a staring contest.
Otherwise, she would agree, she’s pretty cute.
Here’s a deep contemplation + sightseeing session.
Personal Rambling:
Are you in multiple parasocial relationships?
A person on social media asks you personal questions and shares about their personal life and get you attached or befriend their persona without them knowing it. This one-sided relationship is booming in the social media world. Is it good or bad? Let’s see.
If you are an influencer, you may benefit from this type of relationship. If you are a consumer, you need to be mindful of whom are you giving your emotional space. This type of relationship doesn’t require consent or interaction, one person just starts posting about personal stuff in public and you start getting involved. Scientifically, it is said to be harmless but you should know when an influencer asks openly: ‘Which colour top should I wear?’ or just shares about a personal event, know that it’s getting you into a parasocial relationship gradually.
It made me curious to understand this because there’s a thin line between expressing oneself on social media and putting out personal life to get the audience hooked and involved. It has a psychological effect where the audience feels belonged and considers the influencer their friend whereas the influencer has no feelings.
If you want to know the reason why we get into this relationship: We get a sense of belonging we crave. It is evolutionally embedded in our DNA. Is it wrong? Absolutely not. Should you be aware? Hell yeah!
Until next month
Take care and keep shining!
Nishant (or Nish or Bookishnish)
“One's own self is well hidden from one's own self; of all mines of treasure, one's own is the last to be dug up.”
You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.
Or stay in touch by following me across channels:
………………………………………………………
If your friend has shared this with you, you can subscribe here.
Comments
Post a Comment