I was furious at what I read and then at people who had never read a single book in their life but they made an effort to read Alchemist and on top of that they loved it.
That really made me laugh. 🤣🤣🤣 Paulo Coelho is a modern and very popular author in my country (or at least he was. I don't know how it is now). But he has a reputation for being read by quite a few ordinary people/women/models/mistresses, precisely those who lack the capacity and desire to read books at all. I don't know why that is, since I find his books even boring, hard to read, even incomprehensible. But fashion itself imposed them as must-read books. And I don't know if that's actually why I don't like them. But I am one of those people who is not impressed with The Alchemist, I even found it boring. In another of his books, I found blatant plagiarism and borrowings from other places, and it totally turned me off from "his work".
Anyway, the subject of dreams is surprisingly complex. And that's because it's extremely subjective (like everything in life?) I'm a practical and reasonable person too, but over the years I've come to admire more and more people who have stepped out of the box and followed their dreams.
That seems pretty crazy, yes. Even I have taken actions that seemed crazy to others. I don't think these actions were successful, but on the other hand, I also think that if I hadn't tried, maybe in another 20 years, when I won't be able to do things like this, I'll regret not trying. At least now I can say: I tried, but I failed.😆
Of course, when one is tied to one's own family, things look different. But at the same time, I've seen and heard of people who just drop everything at one point because they realize that life is short and maybe it's worth following their dreams instead...
But here's what I think is the right attitude too: if a person feels comfortable in his place, with his way of life and the people around him, he can sometimes dream of something different, but that's a kind of fringe, a luxury, just a dream. But if a person is not happy at all in the place where he is, with his lifestyle, the people around him, then taking action to achieve something else/his dream is necessary, it is even mandatory. So, it depends on which of the two groups one falls into.
This is my attitude towards dreams 😃
In which book you found plagiarism? I read Eleven Minutes but I plan to read it again because apparently I don't understand his books at first attempt. 😅 Veronica decides to die is also resting on my shelf for the last 7 years, couldn't go beyond the first chapter.
I have respect for those people too. Not everyone has the courage or guts to chase the dreams. I also get it that life is short and you live only once.
The only problem I had with the book and like you said - dreams are subjective. Everyone has different circumstances. Not all people can afford to risk what they have for what they might have. Therefore, it's not right to preach to follow dreams blindly and thinking less of those who don't follow.
One thing I forgot to mention in the post - the whole concept of omens sounded too silly. Not every other thing happening around you is an omen and a signal to leave everything and run after your dream.
Your attitude towards dreams is great and I think I have a similar take. If you are already happy then it doesn't hurt dreaming or longing for something else. It keeps you alive. But if you are not happy then a dream becomes a driving force (like weisser-rabe also said), you should chase it.
I read a few of his books quite a few years ago. I don't even remember when, maybe 10. They weren't many, some I also couldn't continue after a few pages. But I think it was The Pilgrimage, which I also found boring, but I wanted to read it for personal reasons, which struck me as borrowing a lot from the Bible without even mentioning it, because it was presented as whole (personal) incidents and experiences. It just so happened that I was looking for something in the Bible at that very time and that's how I saw it. The whole thing left me with just an unpleasant feeling, a very special one. To me, this man is not a good writer, he has achieved fame by chance.
And I forgot to mention that the universe is not at all conspiring to help you achieve your dreams. There are a lot of people who are fixated on searching every minute of their daily lives for signs and symbols (even Paulo Coelho has continued his career this way, from what I've read.😄) But to me, all this esoteric stuff is just a money machine again. Some people write books about how they fixed their lives and achieved their dreams. Read me and follow my steps. Right? It doesn't work like that. Also, too much dealing with the esoteric has caused many people to suddenly become scared and give up on it. Well, ok, that's another topic. But 'silly' and superficial, that's what indeed these things look and sound like, and they're probably on purpose so they can reach as many people as possible.
And yet Pilgrimage is one of his famous work.🤦♀️
I can't agree more. A few years ago, I used to believe in stuff like 5 steps to nail this or that... Having tried myself and brutally failing made me realize that it's just a money-making strategy. Now I run miles away even if I smell something like this. I believe, if something worked for you in a certain way, it doesn't mean it will work for someone else in the same way or work at all, for that matter.
You are right, it's a whole different topic. I have thought to write about it multiple times, some painful experiences. 😅
Maybe some day.
This too made me smile again. 😅 Many of us have fallen into this trap, but not all of us admit that we have been deceived. Life is much more complicated than following 5 steps. And as you say, if something works for one person, it doesn't work for another. Not to mention that such books are often written by people who have not been able to cope with their own problems, but at least they have found a way to make money, in a word - fraudsters.
Maybe it all starts from the fact that people don't want to admit that they have a hard time in life. We all have it difficult to one degree or another, in one aspect or another, because life is not easy to begin with. But everyone keeps quiet about it, publishes books, lies to people, it's all a scam.
Since I started writing here about what's happening to me and how I feel (because I can't anywhere else), I don't know if it's helped me at all, but I think it would have been a lot worse if I didn't talk about it at all and I kept it all inside me.
I say this to encourage you to write further 😊