A deceptively simple book containing the most resounding message of life. Written in parable form about a boy, Santiago, who on the surface is searchiA deceptively simple book containing the most resounding message of life. Written in parable form about a boy, Santiago, who on the surface is searching for his "treasure." What Coelho really imparts thru Santiago, is a universal guide about achieving personal happiness.
It seems simple on the surface & basically can be reduced to "everyone has a purpose for being on the planet (their Personal Legend,) and once one recognizes that purpose and pursues it diligently, happiness follows." I liken that to the saying, "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."
As simple as that message is, it's a journey too easy to miss the mark on. Along the way, the path to finding our "Personal Legend" can be riddled with difficulties, detours and perils so great that we even lose sight of what we seek. Maybe that's why so many of us are lonely and dissatisfied with our lives. We miss those distractions for the lessons they are & give up or settle for something else altogether. The advantage the boy has is the simplicity of his life, not mired in the trappings of our modern success driven life ~ he has time to figure out his hearts desire thru reflection, observation (of the world around him) and time alone in contemplation. Those things are readily available to everyone but hard to tap into in our high tech, crazy busy world. Reading this book, makes you wonder that any of us find our purpose, because when do we give ourselves the solitude to even listen to the message of our heart??
This was my second reading and I think it was even more powerful the 2nd time around. It's a hopeful book ~ even if we've gotten off track, we can get ourselves back on track just by taking note of the signs around us and following our gut. I loved the message that we're all connected to the Soul of the World too.
My only complaint is I wish there weren't really a "treasure" at the end. I wanted the treasure to be something intangible, like love or going back to being a Shepherd because that was so fulfilling. After such a marvelous message, bringing it all back to a monetary objective seemed to defeat the purpose???? Am I the only one who felt this way???...more
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