Will you pursue your Personal Legend?

           As I prepared to visit a dear friend of mine in windy Chicago, I decided to dust off a book I had put away for some years. Many told me to read this beloved book, “The Alchemist”, but I was too distracted by the business of life to delve into the pages that contemplated life in a fictitious, yet very real manner. As I sat crammed in between two passengers on a plane bound for Chicago, I entered into the land of Andalusia with a young boy named Santiago and was instantly enchanted by his quest to discover his Personal Legend and treasure. You will not find many plot spoilers here (for you should also put off business to read this rather rare gem), but a brief highlight of how this book wrestles with the all too familiar question of why we should listen to our heart.

            Santiago is a simple shepherd who dreams of traveling with his sheep and falling in love. These dreams are far from unusual (at least for the time and place from which the story is told) and could indeed lead to some happiness. Santiago did experience contentment raising his sheep and pursuing a merchant girl, but once he was invited to pursue a treasure in a far off land, he wondered if his dreams could be bigger than he even realized. He asked himself the following questions: Do my dreams originate from the Soul of the World (aka God)? Will they lead me to my Personal Legend (aka mission and purpose on Earth)? Similarly, our hearts often ask these questions throughout the course of our lives, but the noise of our own ideas, plans, and business quiets it. Sometimes this quieting is voluntary for we are afraid of what the answer might be. We cling to what we know and find comfort in the confines of the dreams we understand. We avoid the silence because we fear that our heart may ask us to enter into the unknown. This unknown can be riddled with loss, failure, suffering, and hurt. With such possibilities, who would be enticed to take such a risk? The alchemist offers insight into such a thought:

“My heart is a traitor,” the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horses. “It doesn’t want me to go on.”

“That makes sense,” the alchemist answered. “Naturally it’s afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you’ve won.”

“Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?”

“Because you will never again be able to keep quiet. Even if you pretend not to have heard what it tells you, it will always be there inside you, repeating to you what you’re thinking about life and about the world.”

            In an effort to protect itself, your heart can build walls and keep you from taking a risk to achieve your ultimate dreams. These walls can keep you from taking a chance, such as entering new relationships, accepting a new position with more responsibility, moving to a new place, etc. While these walls could protect the heart from being broken by rejection, failure, or loneliness, the heart also doesn’t grow and is left wondering if there could have been something more. The “what ifs” pile up in the heart and you wonder if avoiding the risk or suffering was worth it; if settling for a second-rate dream was worth it. But is suffering really the enemy here? The alchemist explains:

“People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly.”

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.    And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

            So there is nothing to fear than fear itself then right? When it comes to the pursuit of your Personal Legend, this famous phrase rings true. Let this be your mind’s mantra for your heart may already know that the key to your true and ultimate happiness, joy, and peace is wrapped up in your Personal Legend. Now you may be wondering, “That’s all fine and dandy, but what if I don’t even know what my Personal Legend is?” Ah, you ask a fair question for this is one I still even grapple with. Perhaps, however, we are asking the wrong question. Perhaps the real question is, “Are we even open to discovering what our Personal Legend is?” Now, there’s a question only you can answer. It all boils down to a choice. Will you voluntarily shut out the voice of your heart, in pursuit of what you think you want and perhaps live a ordinarily content life, or will you embrace the silence and discover your one true calling that will lead you to the most happiness and joy? The choice is yours. No one is forcing you one way or the other. It is rather an invitation to consider.

            Now, I would tell you what dear Santiago chose, but I shall not indulge you with the answer. That is a spoiler I must avoid and let the pages of this rather compelling tale speak for themselves. As for me, I shall embark on the continuous journey to discovering my Personal Legend, praying that when I hear the movements of my heart, I will truly listen.