Skip to main content

Book Review - The Alchemist

Image
By
I recently read the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho after hearing from multiple people that it is one of their favorite books.  Since it is one of the best-selling books in history, I'm guessing you may have already read it.  This book is truly inspired.  It is simply and beautifully written with much wisdom and truth woven throughout it.

The book is an allegory told through a story of a young shepherd boy who is guided by a prophet to follow his personal legend.  Everyone has a personal legend (personal plan) and the soul of the world (the spirit) will guide them to achieve their personal legend if they listen.  God wants us all to achieve our personal legends, but there will be tests and trials along way.  We need not to fear, because everything is in God's hands.  The young boy sets out to follow his personal legend, which will lead him to treasure.  He meets different individuals, including the alchemist, along the way that teach him lessons and help him on his journey to fulfill his personal legend.

I loved this book.  I found it such an uplifting story of faith and following your heart.  I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes so you can feel uplifted as well.
"When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises."
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” 
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” 
“In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path."  
"The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise.  The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect.  God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of this wisdom."
"One is loved because one is loved.  No reason is needed for loving.” 
Jan's Rating:  
Labels:

Comments

  1. Becky ShulerSeptember 22, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    Thanks for the quotes! I love them! I appreciate you and your upbeat positive attitude. I always enjoy reading your blogs because I enjoy your pictures and cute sense of humor. Keep up the good work!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lee AnnSeptember 22, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    I read the book last year and really enjoyed it too. It was such a unique book I thought.

    ReplyDelete
  3. grammawoodSeptember 26, 2011 at 8:49 PM

    I'll have to put this on my list of books to read.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oh Crafty Trees, Oh Crafty Trees...

By
I've become a finals widow, if you will, meaning Danny is crazy busy trying to finish up the semester.  This has given me extra time to use my crafty skills to get our place Christmas ready.  My first creations were these little paper/foam trees.  I've seen a few variations online of this craft. I put my own little twist on it.  They are really easy to make, just takes some time. Here is what you need: Scrap paper Hot glue gun 1" Circle punch Foam cone (at most craft stores) Toothpicks Note:  You are going to go to the craft store to buy the little foam cone and you will see styrofoam glue and you will think to yourself that would be a good thing to buy for this project.  Don't!  I got the styrofoam glue and it didn't work at all.  Just go with your trusty glue gun, it won't let you down. I think it's pretty self-explanatory by looking at the picture.  You just punch circles out from the scrap paper.  Then hot glue th...
5 comments
Read more

The End of the Road

By
There is a time when things fulfill their purpose and that is how I've been feeling with this blog of mine. When I started it, I needed my own little spot to share my thoughts and random stuff I found online. However, having two blogs has become excessive. It has been a good run (me and this little blog) and thanks for joining me. For now on, I will just be posting on my family blog . It's a private blog, but send me a message or a request if you would like to view it. Thanks to those who have taken the time to read my silly thoughts or look at pictures of my cute kiddo or some craft I made. It means a lot to me. Signing off, Jannifer
4 comments
Read more

The Christmas Box

By
Remember how forever ago I said I would post a tutorial on how to fold these cute boxes.  Sigh, life is busy.  But I am here to fulfill my promise, even if it is a bit belated.  We had a Super Saturday at church with classes we could take.  My awesome friend, Becky, taught us how to create these, so I give her all the credit. What you need, paper, scissors, ruler pencil and some type of adhesive. 1.On the blank side of your paper draw an X from each corner, using a ruler. 2. Fold the bottom corner to the  center. 3. Fold the bottom corner one more  time up to the center. 4. Now you are  going to do the exact  two folds from steps 2 and 3 to the  opposing top corner, so your  paper will look like this. 5.  Unfold your paper and make the same folds to left and right corners that haven't been folded yet.  So once again, fold the point to the middle. 6.  Do a second fold to th...
2 comments
Read more