Lessons From The Alchemist

"Why do we have to listen to our hearts?" the boy asked, when they had made camp that day.

"Because, wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure."

"But my heart is agitated," the boy said. "It has its dreams, it gets emotional, & it's become passionate over a woman of the desert. It asks things of me, & it keeps me from sleeping many night, when I'm thinking about her."

"Well, that's good. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say."

"My heart is a traitor," the boy said to the alchemist, when they had paused to rest the horse. "It doesn't want me to go on."

"That makes sense. Naturally it's afraid that, in pursuing your dream, you might lose everything you won."

"Well, then, why should I listen to my heart?"

"Because you will never again be able to keep it quiet."

"You mean I should listen, even if it's treasonous?"

"Treason is a blow that comes unexpectedly. If you know your heart well, it will never be able to do that to you. Because you'll know its dreams & wishes, & will know how to deal with them."

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. & 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 & with eternity."

Happy Valentine's day, everyone! :)