The Alchemist review

The Alchemist a book by Paulo Coelho is a must read for anyone going through a life challenge. We follow the story of a young Shepard. Who travels through the cities and deserts of northern Africa, in search of treasure. Along the story the main character Santiago meets several strange characters. He meets a gypsy a king disguised as an old man, he later meets a crystal merchant a British scholar and an alchemist to name a few. He also faces an array of challenges along the way. Each challenge he faces and resolves brings a life lesson to the reader. The life lessons learned here can be applied immediately to ones life. Reading this book is like talking to a psychologist. You learn several coping techniques you especially learn to be mindful and live life by the second.

Most shocking to me was the part of this book involving the British scholar. At this point in the story Santiago meets a Englishman who is in search of an alchemist. The Englishman feverishly tries to find a way to turn metals into gold. He reads countless books and learns almost all that is written about alchemy but he still fails. This hit me and ironically made me realize that there are things in life that cant be learned from just reading. The English man toiled all his life with books,but he missed life's lessons. I realized that you have to be aware and open minded. It's great to read and learn from academic sources, but when like the Englishman  rely on one source of information you end up being ignorant and you miss out on other great  baskets of information.

I like the book and i believe it conveys many heartfelt messages.  Great books  often times are books that you can relate to, and i certainly can relate to the characters in this book. The book was not overly complex and the chain of events developed quickly. Many other books have overly complex plots and drag over volumes. What i really liked about the book was that it reassured me that I and 6 billion other people in this world will face hard times, but to my joy  and their joy we will all get through those hard moments in life. The only complaint i have after reading this book was that the ending did not offer complete closure. There are parts that ended but are left to speculation. We can assume at the end that Santiago and Fatima will marry but we can only assume. I really wish the book elaborated more on this. Finally i wish the book  at some point at the end involved the king that convinced Santiago to start his journey.

I would recommend this book specifically to any young person starting out in life. You will learn a lot about life from this simple book.  This book is great for that first semester student at bunker hill, dealing with a life challenge. I can go as far as to calling this book a fable because many morals are learned here. I recommend this book because you will learn Mindfulness you will learn that every life legend that was worth something had many challenges along the way. The Alchemist can also be read by any person regardless of age who needs to be reassured that the troubles of today signal the success of tomorrow.

He traveled from the green Andalusian fields

Brave he was
The boy who dreamed of treasure
Traveled the  world
he stumbled upon the warm sands of Africa he
was a crystal merchant

he was a Sheppard
he was a teacher
only this boy could understand the soul of the world
for he spoke without words
in search of the pyramids he went
along the way he found danger in dunes
but nothing could stop him
for he realized his personal legend
he spoke to the world and unleashed a symphony
a symphony that taught us
"when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 
he unleashed the power of his heart
and from then on
The world knew of a brave boy named Santiago

Week 8

We have many things in life that we take many of them for granted.  We sometime forget that the things that we have others would risk their lives to get. We are all guilty of taking stuff for granted. I am no different. I take for granted having a nice car. I bought the car used and i am making monthly payments and when i first got it i loved it. I still love my car, but as time has passed i find myself wanting a better car. I fail to recognized that i have a better car than mot kids my age. I take for granted my cell phone. I work with cellphones and i constantly activate new lines for people. Whenever I  activate a new line or do an upgrade i become jealous. I take for granted my phone. But I forget that i still have a nice phone and that many people around the world would love to have the phone that I have. I get angry when i have no hot water left in the shower,but many people don't even have a clean source of drinking water.

Although i take for granted many things i find myself to be grateful of other things. Im grateful to be alive and healthy. I am glad to have a job i am glad to go to school. I am grateful for my baby brother for my home I am also grateful for meeting new people at school. I am grateful for those people who encourage me to improve my self. Life has many frustrations but that has not stopped me form being grateful to be alive, in one of the greatest countries on earth.

I could breathe the crisp autumn air. I  can stop think and taste my black coffee better,instead of gulping my coffee in 30 seconds.  I can enjoy the sound of the raindrops flicking on the asphalt I can be more mindful and enjoy life more. I can listen to my favorite music and really focus on the sounds and feelings the songs transfer to me. I can stop and enjoy the energy of my friends I can enjoy the way they treat me as if i was their cousin of brother. Stopping and enjoying life as it is makes me feel better. I feel like i am home i feel safe and secure, and i know everything will be alright.

Crisp autumm breeze
will drift us to the apex
like mountain lions we climb

Week 7

We as humans all have fears some fears are more rational than others. Some fears are bigger than others and as we age our fears evolve. Fears can attack us in so many ways. fear is the ultimate mind game. Fear is the ultimate mental monster and we constantly have to find ways to scare fear.  At the moment i am afraid of failure. I am very afraid of not making it far in life. I have struggled in the past with school and i struggled in the air force. I just got diagnosed with a learning disorder and at the moment i am fighting this mental monster called fear.  I fear that the limitations imposed upon me based on this label of learning disorder will come out to be true.

The biggest boulder in my way to success is coming to terms with my learning disorder. I need to realize that no learning disorder is holding me down. But what is holding me down are my negative thoughts of "I cant because i have a learning disorder". Every time i fail i think it is because i am not good enough or because everyone is better. I think because i was diagnosed with this learning disability i naturally suck at everything. Every time i fail i blame the learning disorder for my failure. I start to panic and feel anxious i start to have a bleak view on my future. I am using 3 assets of mine to slay my fear.


My ability to get mad at my fear rather than let it defeat me is a mixed blessing. Anger is not a good emotion but it is an asset that we posses. It is an asset that allows us to fight with the fury of a thousand armies. We turn into a one man army when we are angry. I control my anger and put it towards my fear and in return i am able to fight my fear. I am able to say to myself that i will not fail i am able to say to myself that what ever happens happens but if what happens turns out to be a bad thing at the end of the day i will at least have the pleasure of knowing that i am not a coward. For i took the risk of coming head to head with my worst fear. I enrolled into school knowing that previously i have failed. I took the chance of failing once again. If fear is a game of chicken then i am racing towards it at 1,000 miles per hour. Fear is fought in many ways but in cases like mine i am fighting fear with fire.  I will continue to use my assets like anger and determination to win.  If this monster creeps up on me again and enfeebles me i will harness my power and take it on again.

You try to tremble me
You linger in the back you whisper in my ear
but i have not fear
You tell me to stop you tell me to fail
but i always prevail
you scream and seek help but there's no avail
there is no escape from my wrath
you call yourself fear
a coward you are
you pleasure is to see me in pain
but my anger will leave you in vain
i am a bigger beast but all i want is peace
this anger wont ease
until you cease.
What ever happens happens but let me remind you that you dont control me i nourished you
I made you grow
I created you
And  i will be the one to say i cremated you i ended you.

Week 6

Currently i am very busy my life has many things going on. Most recently i went to the Red Sox game yesterday. The Red Sox game was my very first play off game and it was great to take in the moment. It was great to look down on the Fenway diamond and breathe in the cool October breeze. I also got my Mobile shirt at my job. Getting the mobile shirt is a big moment for a Best Buy mobile employee. It is the shirt that distincts us from all other employees in the store. I am also talking to new people i have met at my work and at BHCC.

For all the good things that are happening there are also bad things going on. I am currently trying to accept that i have NVLD a learning disability. Reading this weeks lesson has got me thinking about being in denial. I may be in denial and may have to accept that i do have a learning disability and it is part of who i am. It is not a good feeling to learn that you have something called a learning disability. But i am trying to just accept it and not waste energy self loathing.

At this precise moment i feel a bit more calm i tried the bell meditation and it has worked. It has been 40 minutes into this lesson and i am learning to ignored the flood of thoughts that i have. Thoughts that lead me to not get my school work and my job related classes to be finished in time. I am feeling good about myself and i am also feeling happy to be in a new home.

When I stop, I notice... Who I am
When I stop, I notice Who you truly are
When i stop I notice you have been with me my whole life
But i just met you 
When I stop i notice I have been ignoring you all along
When I stop I notice you are my greatest gift
When I stop I notice you are my biggest handicap
when I stop I notice you are my downfall 
When I stop I notice you have caused agony and pain
When I stop I notice you have been with me like a friend in my moments of pain
When I stop I notice you are a learning disability
You give me handicaps 
But you also give me advantages
You push me to the floor
But you pick me up
When I stop I notice that its been 20 years
20 years that I have wasted ignoring you
20 years in denial
But today is the day
When I stop and I notice that you are a part of me and i will always be a part of you

Week 5

We all have had moments in our lives that seemed like a misfortune at the time,but later turned out to be a blessing. Blessing's in disguise happen almost everyday they range from small blessings to profound and deep changes that rearrange the course of our lives for the better. When i graduated high school i had decided not to go to college. I decided to join the U.S Air Force and live on my own. I was ready to travel the world and explore different cultures. I was ready to be my own man and be a independent 20 year old. While i was in basic training one thing led to another and i was not able to graduate.

Being sent home from Air Force training initially made me feel like a failure. At the time i felt like i was not good enough to complete a task that millions of other people had completed. I felt depressed and i was in emotional despair. I was angry at myself and i felt like i was doomed to be a failure. I thought to myself "all these people are better than me". I wanted to quit and when i came home i did not know the purpose of my life. I also did i know what the hell i wanted to do in my life. I had planned on spending 20 years in the Air Force. And now life had just knocked me to the ground i had to get back up somehow. Life had me unconscious  and i was having a hard time finding a path to walk on.

As time has passed by I have learned to cope with this failure. I have learned to look at it for the good things it has given me. It has been a blessing in disguise for many reasons. It has taught me how to deal with negative emotions. I now view depression to be like a flu it sucks and it lingers for a while but now i know that it eventually goes away. I learned that as long as you work on your defeats the outcome can only be good. I gained employment,met new people and enrolled in school (BHCC) all these good things happened after being discharged. I also went to a few Red Sox games and i also got a new car. My perspective on the event has changed. To get good at something so complex like life you have to fail many times. Michael Jordan missed thousand's of shots before becoming the greatest NBA player of all time. Muhammad Ali went to jail and was stripped of his titles before becoming the greatest of all time. I failed basic training before becoming the best....... the best at something that don't know yet.

Alchemy is not produced by wizards
Alchemy is not produced by machines
Alchemy is not not an equation or a science experiment
Alchemy is not gold nor is it silver
Alchemy is a magic that we posses
Alchemy is positive perspective
Alchemy is turning frowns into smiles
Alchemy is jumping when you fall
Alchemy is being  first even if you are last
Alchemy is not the glass half empty
Alchemy is the glass half full
Alchemy is positive perspective
Alchemy heals wounds
Alchemy destroys failure
Alchemy creates success
Alchemy destroys hate
Alchemy makes love
Alchemy eats darkness
Alchemy makes light
Alchemy is our minds ability to change bad experiences into good ones.