In the book The Alchemist, author Paulo Coelho tells the story of a young boy named Santiago. Santiago is perplexed by a recurring dream, in which he is transported to the Pyramids of Egypt, where a child promises him that he will find great treasure there.
Motivated by this dream, Santiago decides to take action and attempts to visit the Pyramids of Egypt. This, however, is not easy task for Santiago. His voyage to the Pyramids of Egypt take him on an incredible adventure where he meets new people, learns about the world, and most importantly, learns about himself. Along the way, Santiago falls in love with a woman that he met in the desert named Fatima. He wishes that he could stay in the desert with Fatima forever, but he realizes that he must continue his journey to the Pyramids.
Santiago eventually reaches the Pyramids of Egypt and begins to dig for his treasure. He finds nothing. Thieves beat up Santiago and take all of his money. He tells the thieves all about his recurring dream and how his treasure was supposed to be by the Pyramids. One of the thieves tells Santiago about his own dream about treasure in an abandoned church.
Immediately, Santiago knows where his treasure is. He returns to the exact place where he first began dreaming of his treasure: An abandoned church in the city of Andalusia. He digs next to the Sycamore tree that he slept by and finds gold coins and jewels. As he finds he treasure, Santiago says, “I’m coming, Fatima.”
Santiago’s true treasure wasn’t the gold or the jewels. It was Fatima, who he had met on his journey to find the treasure. And the gold and the jewels were not located at the Pyramids like his dream had foreshadowed. Instead, they were in the same city where Santiago had started his journey.
In our own lives, so many of us look forward to the so called treasure at the end of the rainbow. What most of us don’t realize is that the ‘treasure’ isn’t about any specific item or accomplishment. The treasure is actually the journey.
In an author’s effort to publish a book, the treasure isn’t actually the finished product. The treasure is the journey in publishing the book. Sure, the finished book is a nice bonus. Really nice if it sells well. But the treasure is all the late nights that the author spent attempting to craft the perfect sentence. All of the rejection. All of the frustrations. All of the joy.
Author Steven Pressfield says that he looks back on the days where he was a struggling author fondly.
“Appreciate these days. These days where you are broke and struggling, they’re the best days of your life. You’re gonna break through one day, my boy, and when you do, you’ll look back on this time and think this is when I was really an artist, when everything was pure and I had nothing but the dream and the work. Enjoy it now. Pay attention. These are the good days. Be grateful for them,” wrote Pressfield.
Too many people focus on the destination, instead of just enjoying the ride. After all, this is what is really important. If you are not actually doing all that you can to enjoy and appreciate each day that you are given, then what is the point?
No matter where you are in your life right now, take a second to appreciate the journey that life has taken you on. Appreciate all of the good moments, all of the bad moments, all of the triumphs, all of the pain.
If you are at a point in your life where you are feeling down or discouraged, just remember that joy wouldn’t feel so good if it wasn’t for pain.
Most importantly, remember to follow your path. Not one single person on this planet has the same journey as you, so don’t try to live other’s journey. Live your own.
Take your own risks. Experience your own failure. Experience your own success.
It is important to realize that nobody is going to live your journey for you. It is up to you to and only you.
So go do it. And most importantly, enjoy it.