The Zahir by Paulo Coelho (no spoilers)

I've just finished the book, The Zahir by Paulo Coelho. He shot to fame with his work, The Alchemist, which I love a lot because it is such a simple story with a powerful message. Perhaps it is such a great book that the rest of his books have failed to live up to my expectations. Anyhow, as with all his books, there are messages that are worth remembering and thinking about. Although the delivery of these messages leaves much to be desired, they speak of life and the way we lead it.

Here is an extract from the book:

{ The master had a buffalo. The animal's widespread horns made him think that if he could manage to sit between them, it would be like sitting on a throne. One day, when the animal was distracted, he climbed up between the horns and did just that. The buffalo, however, immediately lumbered to its feet and threw him off. When his wife saw this, she began to cry.

"Don't cry," said the master, once he had recovered. "I may have suffered, but I also realised my dream." }

Live your dreams. Sounds like a slogan from an advertisement doesn't it? The extract reminded me of how when we were kids, all sorts of wild ideas of dare-devil stunts would come to mind. I'm sure at some point you wanted to climb a tree? I used to climb the stairs the unconventional way. I would hang onto the railings of the stairs and climb it from the outside. If I would to lose my grip, I will definitely break my neck, among other places. I once decided that I wanted to sit on the wash basin, it was one of those wash basins that was stuck to the wall and supported by nothing else. I did, and it broke.

What has happened to all those stunts? We were told that they were dangerous and we would fall, hard. Through other falls, we have come to know pain. We began to consider the fact that we might fail in our attempt and get hurt. All these are magnifested in the other areas of our lives. Wanted to be a movie star? A musician? An artist? No, no, what if I am not good enough? I would end up wasting my life and would have to live on the streets, you say.

Kids lack the inhibitions that adults have built up into impenetrable barriers. Yes, there are rules, but why? Too much stands between most people and the happy, silly, wondrous place where we began our lives.

I shall end with another extract from the book:

{ "How many people do you know who say: I've never done what I wanted, but then, that's life. If they say they haven't done what they wanted, then, at some point, they must have known what it was that they did want. As for life, it's just a story that other people tell us about the world and about how we should behave in the world." }

Live your dreams.