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The Alchemist

Book by Paulo Coelho · 50 quotes · Inspirational, The Alchemist, Love

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The Alchemist Quotes

“That was what made traveling appeal to him - he always made new friends, and he didn't need to spend all of his time with them. When someone sees the same people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary, they wind up becoming a part of that person's life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”

“Uno siempre acaba haciendo amigos nuevos y no es necesario quedarse con ellos día tras día. Cuando vemos siempre a las mismas personas (y esto pasa en el seminario) terminamos haciendo que pasen a formar parte de nuestras vidas. Y como ellas forman parte de nuestras vidas, pasan también a querer modificar nuestras vidas. Y si no somos como ellas esperan que seamos, se molestan. Porque todas las personas saben exactamente cómo debemos vivir nuestra vida. Y nunca tienen idea de cómo deben vivir sus propias vidas. Como la mujer de los sueños que no sabía transformarlos en realidad.”

“The boy continued to listen to his heart as they crossed the desert. He came to understand its dodges and tricks, and to accept it as it was. He lost his fear, and forgot about his need to go back to the oasis, because, one afternoon, his heart told him that it was happy. "Even though I complain sometimes," it said, "it's because I'm the heart of a person, and people's hearts are that way. 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, or of moments that could have been good but weren't, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly.”

“It's a book that says the same thing almost all the other books in the world say," continued the old man. "It describes people's inability to choose their own Personal Legends. And it ends up saying that everyone believes the world's greatest lie." "What's the world's greatest lie?" the boy asked, completely surprised. "It's this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.”

“إذا شكوتُ قليلاً، فلأنني لست سوى قلب إنسان. وهكذا هي قلوب الناس، تخاف من تحقيق أحلامها الكبرى، لأنها تعتقد أنها لا تستحقّ بلوغها، أو أنها فعلاً لا تقدر على بلوغها. إننا نموت، نحن القلوب، خوفاً من حالات الحب الذي ولَّى إلى الأبد، ومن الأوقات التي كان يمكن أن تكون أوقاتاً رائعة، ومن تلك التي ليست كذلك، ومن الكنوز التي كان يمكن اكتشافها، ولكنها ظلّت، إلى الأبد، مدفونةً في الرمال، لأننا، متى حصل ذلك، نتألّم كثيراً من هول المعاناة التي تسبق النهاية.”

“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him. We, people's hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them—the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place. "So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won't be heard: we don't want people to suffer because they don't follow their hearts.”

“আমাদের একেকজনের জীবনের এক একটা নির্দিষ্ট বিন্দুতে এসে আমাদের চারপাশে যা হচ্ছে তার উপর নিয়ন্ত্রণ হারিয়ে ফেলি। তখন জীবনের নিয়ন্ত্রণ নেয় ভাগ্য। এটাই দুনিয়ার সবচেয়ে বড় মিথ্যা ।”

“What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”

“Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams and wishes, and will know how to deal with them. You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”

“The alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus. The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus. But this was not how the author of the book ended the story. He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears. 'Why do you weep?' the goddesses asked. 'I weep for Narcissus," the lake replied. 'Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus,' they said, 'for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.' 'But... was Narcissus beautiful?' the lake asked. 'Who better than you to know that?' the goddesses asked in wonder. 'After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!' The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said: 'I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.' 'What a lovely story,' the alchemist thought.”

“So he could not be hasty or impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path. God placed them along my path. He had surprised himself with the thought. Until then, he had considered the omens to be things of this world, Like eating or sleeping, or like seeking love or finding a job. he had never thought of them in terms of a language used by God to indicate what he should do.”

“The boy didn't know what a person's "destiny" was. "It's what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is." "At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny.”