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Tuesday, January 24, 2017

On Following Dreams & Looking For Signs

I've recently re-read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho as part of a bookclub read. I probably read it the first time when I was 16 and didn't remember how the story went. The novel kept popping up and being the person I am and my obsession with signs I decided to give it another shot.

I definitely remember the book to be much better the first time I read it, the second time wasn't that special. And I'm really not sure if The Alchemist was part of the reason that got me into this obsession with looking for signs and believing that the dreams we get while sleeping are not just our subconscious trying to be creative. I guess I'll never know. Sometimes I wish if I could download a book that includes all the thought processes I went through along with the decisions and opinions I ended up with. Now that would be an interesting book to go through.

While reading The Alchemist I wondered if I would ever be as courageous as Santiago to actually follow something I've seen in a dream. I actually wonder if anyone would do that. It sounds crazy, in the case of Santiago, to leave Andalusia and head to the pyramids in Egypt because of a dream where a child tells him a treasure awaits. That's crossing continents and a wild desert, yet he still did it. And along the way he followed the signs the universe laid on his path, and he chose to follow. And how true is it that "when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream"?

I must admit in the past 2 years or so I've made a decision based on what I thought was a sign. I sat one night on my bed and finally faced a fear I had by making a decision sparked by that sign. I knew all along that I was trying really hard to make something work based on a decision someone made for me and I'm very grateful for letting that sign guide me. Facing fears based on signs eventually became something I relied on and I'm not sure if that's a good way to deal with things but so far it hasn't disappointed me. 

My sister explains signs as a manifestation of what you deeply want but you don't know it is what you want. She explains it the same way that famous decision making idea goes; if you want to make a decision flip a coin and in that second when the coin is in the air you'll know which side you want it to fall on. It could be true but whatever it is, it helps. 

While writing this, I'm realising why The Alchemist is a great book. I probably just needed to sit and rethink about it for me to realise why it's a good read. I think I just like the idea that the universe is here to help out if we give it a chance

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