Book 227 - A Year of Magical Learning (Part 2/2)

Reflection Title: Don’t Forget to take in the Castle!

Book – The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo (Part 2 of 2)

Book Description:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho continues to change the lives of its readers forever. With more than two million copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, universally admired.

Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Reflection:

Paraphrasing a story from The Alchemist –

“A shopkeeper sent his son to learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. When the boy arrived at the wise man’s castle, he waited 2 hours to finally meet the man. The boy told the wise man he came to learn the secret to happiness. The wise man said he was busy and told him to go take a tour of the castle for 2 hours and come back and he’ll tell him the secret. He asked the boy to do him a favor while on his tour, he handed him a spoon, filled it with oil, and asked the boy to return with all the oil after his tour is over. The boy toured the castle and kept a close eye on the oil to make sure he returned with it all as requested.

In 2 hours the boy returned with all the oil and ready to hear the secret to happiness. The wise man asked, did you see the amazing castle? What did you think? The boy said he hadn’t because he was focused on the oil. The wise man told him to go around again for 2 hours and try to take it all in and return with the oil.

The boy took another tour around and returned again this time having seen all the marvels of the castle. When he looked down at the spoon, he saw that all the oil was gone and he was embarrassed as he approached the wise man.

The wisest of the wise men then said, Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you, the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

I think about this story often as I’m going through my life these days. It helps me to remember what this is all about.

I think about it when I’m on a long run, hot, alone, sweaty, miserable, the sun is beating down on me, and I can’t wait to get home to check the box off of my exercise for the day. I’m staring at the paved street and focusing on taking each next step in my mind to force myself to keep moving forward until we magically make it back to the house. I want nothing more than to be done with this workout.

Every once in a while, the story of the oil and the castle will pop into my mind and I’ll think to myself, don’t forget to take in the castle Chris. It wakes me up and snaps me out of only focusing on “carrying the oil” and I find myself looking up from the path and taking in all the world around me on the run. I start to think, I’m not alone…I’m running with Emilia. It immediately find myself grateful that I’m able to spend this time with my daughter. From there, I start to marvel at the world around me. I see the beauty of the tree lined paved path that I’m running on. I soak in the shade of each tree that I run under that brings coolness and relief from the sun. I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin when I exit the shade and I’m grateful that I’m outside. I remember how blessed I am to even have the physical ability to get out and run in the first place. I taste the sweat and think of how amazing our bodies are that we are able to cool ourselves to keep going. I think of enduring and all the Emilia taught me during her short time here on this Earth.

Before I know it, I’m smiling as I’m nearing my house and completing the run.

The workout magically transformed from a chore to an activity that aligns with my values and purpose.

The run went from meaningless to meaningful.

That is the secret to happiness…Don’t forget to look up every once in a while and remember what this is all about.

Question: Are you too focused on not dropping the oil? How can you remind yourself to look up every now and then to take in the castle around you and soak in the beauty of this world?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? - An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo