一步一驚心

Just finished reading The Alchemist, a novel recommended by a friend a while back. The plot of the story is pretty simple: it's about a journey of a little shepherd who travels across Sahara to Egypt, where he is told in repeating dreams that treasures are buried under the pyramids. Of course, it's a long and uneasy journey, and what's important is not the treasures, but the self-discovery of the boy along the way. A detailed plot summary can be found in this wiki.

Honestly I don't like novels, especially those that talk about myths, legends, "energy", etc... and when Christianity is involved (yeah, the author, Paulo Coelho, is a Catholic).

That said, I like what the author mentions in the introduction the four reasons we don't have the courage to confront our own dream:

1. We are told from childhood that everything we want to do is impossible, and hence burying our dream over the years.
2. Love--even though we know what we want to do, we are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream.
3. Fear of the defeats we will meet on the path. But defeats are necessary and unpreventable. Just that if you fall down seven times, get up eight times.
4. Thinking that we do not deserve success.

I also like these quotes:

(When the shepherd boy is about to cross Sahara, the camel driver says) Once you get into the desert, there's no going back. And, when you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward. The rest is up to Allah, including the danger.

You must love the desert, but never trust it completely. Because the desert tests all men: it challenges every step, and kills those who become distracted.

All in all, 一步一驚心!