If there is anything courageous you could do, what would you do?

I recently read the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, finally.. because this seems to be a classic? But to be honest, I’m never really in the known of what a classic book is or what is a must read. Books usually come to me in divine timing, I’ve bought books before that stay in my bookshelf for years and one day I feel the impulse to read them.

The Alchemist was exactly that, I’ve heard about it before, I’ve listened to Paulo Coelho’s interviews talking about it, I’ve seen it in stores, but it never really caught my attention until recently. And, when I started reading it, it felt as though every single word was speaking to my soul. I want to go back and read it a thousand times because it felt like a warm hug to my soul. There was one particular paragraph that made me stop and read it again and it again and it again until tears fell down my cheeks.

“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.”

“Every second of the search is an encounter with

God,” the boy told his heart.

“When I have been truly searching for my treasure,

every day has been luminous, because I’ve known

that every hour was a part of the dream that I

would find it. When I have been truly searching

for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the

way that I never would have seen had I not had

the courage to try things that seemed impossible

for a shepherd to achieve.”

As you may already know (or if you don’t) I recently started a season of transition from running a successful business for over 6 years to deciding it was time for a change, but I didn’t even really know what was next. I just knew it in my heart that if I kept doing the same, change would never come because I would had been too busy to notice what sparked curiosity and joy.

It took me a while to make the decision to change, to leave behind what I had poured my heart and soul on for over 6 years. It took a lot of courage and trust to take the leap. We live in a world that has taught us that not knowing exactly what we want means that we are lost, and this made me feel like I didn’t belong, like something was wrong with me… Despite my mind knowing this, my heart decided to be courageous and do what it felt right, I wanted to allow myself the time and space to search, to follow my curiosity, to look at the world with childlike eyes and follow those things that seemed to spark.

Looking back at every decision I’ve made in my life I realize I’ve always followed the same path. I’ve gone against the things we are expected to do, and I’ve taken leaps of faith. I’ve found joy in the process of exploring and allowing myself to do things that were never in my plans.

So, when I read that paragraph from the Alchemist my heart grew and felt warm. Although I had never attempted to put into words what the process of exploration and curiosity felt like, there it was… “because every second of the search is a

second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

There is a special feeling that arises when I have been in a path of discovery and exploration. There is an excitement about everything that I’m curious about and there is a distinct sense of awe. It’s a mix of inspiration and joy but there is also a deep sense of doubt. I attribute this sense of doubt to the structures that have been put in place in our life. I believe that these rigid structures are MEANT to be broken occasionally so that we learn the courageous path of love, trust and faith towards ourselves, others and this life.