Unexpected Blessings

Thanks to Russ’s album Santiago, I’m re-reading The Alchemist and to no surprise I’m picking up different things from this time through than I did when I last read it. I think this will be the case every time I read it—new omens will arise with each reading depending on where I am on my Pursuit.

Last night I read this exchange between Santiago and the crystal merchant and I felt a sense of sadness as I read it—I won’t ruin the story or what happens next in the book.

Prior to this part of the exchange the crystal merchant shares with Santiago that he does not like to make change because he is comfortable with who he is and he doesn’t know how to deal with change in his life—this is a feeling too many individuals deal with. The merchant was comfortable with never realizing some of his dreams because of the changes he’d have to make in order for them to become reality.

The merchant hit Santiago with this, 

“You have been a real blessing to me. Today, I understand something that I didn’t see before: every blessing ignored becomes a curse. I don’t want anything else in life. But you are forcing me to look at wealth and horizons I have never known. Now that I have seen them and now that I see how immense my possibilities are, I’m going to feel worse than I did before you arrived. Because I know the things I should be able to accomplish, and I don’t want to do so.”

I can feel the merchant’s discomfort with realizing he could have or still could experience so much more in his life but that he won’t because of his inability to handle change.

I hope to be Santiago in the lives of many—helping them see the possibilities within as I pursue my authentic life. 

I know many will be like the merchant and sit with the discomfort of not experiencing all that life has to offer them and avoid the unknown of making a change, but I hope some, even just a few, find excitement in the new possibilities they discover and pursue the authentic life that awaits them.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC