"When you possess great treasures within you, seldom are
you believed." This quote is from Paulo Coelho's novel, The
Alchemist. This lesson changes Santiago's (the boy, the shepherd)
life.
While Santiago and the alchemist are traveling toward
the Pyramids, encountering warring tribes, three armed men, Arabs, stop them to ask them
what they are doing, where they are going.
The alchemist
has possessions that puzzle the men and so he explains what they do. His answer seems
totally outlandish to the men.
That's the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of
Life. It's the Master Work of the alchemists. Whoever swallows that elixir will never be
sick again, and a fragment from that stone turns any metal to
gold.
Upon hearing this
answer, the men laugh at him, and he laughs along. They allow the alchemist and boy to
go on their way, with all of their belongings.
The boy is
incredulous, asking the old man why he had told them the truth. The alchemist explains
that when "you possess great treasures within you, seldom are you
believed."
Since the three armed men could not imagine that
what the alchemist told them was possible, they did not believe him. The alchemist is
saying that even when you have treasure within, perhaps love or peace, people may not be
able to believe that you have the treasure within that you say you do. For a better
understanding, look to the start of Santiago's
journey.
With all Santiago has learned, I think this lesson
from the alchemist ties in with what the king had told the boy when he first learned
about his Personal Legend. The king explains that sometimes people who are following the
dream of their Personal Legend give up just before they are about to realize that
dream.
The king says he is there to encourage Santiago
because he is ready to give up. And perhaps the central idea is
that because so many people give up on their Personal Legend, perhaps they cannot
believe that others have achieved what they have not, so they don't
believe someone when he speaks about great treasures
within.
For gold is not the treasure. Riches are what the
boy thought he was searching for at the beginning, but he is really searching for his
purpose in life. Marrying Fatima is his treasure, as he readily admits, but he has been
told by the king and the alchemist not to give up until he completes the search for his
Personal Legend. The boy comes to understand this when he thinks of Fatima who is all
the treasure he really needs, and she resides in his
heart.
...now
he knew where his treasure
was.
The king's words help
Santiago to realize that it's not the "stuff" you accumulate that is important, but the
journey you take, the things you learn and the treasure you find
within.
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