“Wherever your heart is, that is where you’ll find your
treasure.” (Paulo Coehlo, The
Alchemist).
As I step through the front door from my afternoon walk, my
cheeks still raw from the crisp, wet air, I am greeted by the sounds of my
children playfully arguing in the kitchen.
It has been a dreary, rainy day that would probably have been better
suited for curling up in a chair with a good book (such as The Alchemist)
and a cup of hot tea. But thankfully,
the rain subsided long enough to allow me to take a walk to the park and
back. I had been longing to go for a
walk all day … for when I walk, my thoughts tend to become clearer, allowing me
to feel centered and see the poetry in the moment and in the world around me. I tend to notice little things such as a lone
leaf still clinging to the branches of a barren tree up ahead. A droplet of water falling into a puddle at
my feet may draw my attention to the reflection of a flag flying nearby. On
sunnier days, I may eagerly follow a butterfly playfully leading me on my
path. While walking, I am often reminded
of how lucky I am to be following my personal legend…
What is one’s personal legend? As stated in The Alchemist, “It’s what
you have always wanted to accomplish.
Everyone, when they are young, knows what their personal legend is. At that point in their lives, everything is
clear and everything is possible. They
are not afraid to dream and to yearn for everything they would like to see
happen to them in their lives.”
But then reality and "life" happens and we tend to
let our dreams fall by the wayside as we give in to external demands on our
time and energies as well as other people's standards and expectations of
success. We tend to allow others to
dictate what is important and allow them to convince us that our dreams are
unattainable. But remember ... those who
truly love us will be there to support us and encourage us to strive harder to
reach our goals. They will not stand in
our way as we follow our personal
legend.
Often fear sets in!
Fear of failure, of course, for as
grownups, we become aware of the risks and obstacles, and no one wants to make
mistakes. But we also find a fear of success… What if we reach our goals
and it wasn't what we had expected? What
if we are disappointed? What if we are truly successful? What then?
How do we continue on once our
goals have been reached? We must find the
courage to carry on despite our fears …
Following one’s personal legend does not need to revolve
around a major quest. Following one’s
personal legend simply means doing what makes you happy, fulfilling the things
you long for in your heart. Perhaps it
is simply a mother finding joy in spending time with her kids, a farmer finding
pride in watching his corn grow, or a writer finding just the right words to
share in a poem or a blog. While
following a personal legend, we often feel one with the world, centered within
ourselves and ready to give to the world around us.
Now this evening, as I am nearly finished typing my blog, I stop
for a moment to answer my daughter’s plea for my attention. She is wondering if we can have a family
movie night after supper. I think it
sounds like a good idea. I call
downstairs to Christian to see if he has
plans for the evening while Karissa begins to search for a good movie on
Netflix. Yes, I am happy to be following
my personal legend, and I have truly learned that the
treasure is indeed in the journey, the moments we share with the people we love; and
my greatest treasures are right here at home!
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