A Thirst for Adventure

A Wanderer's Song



A wind's in the heart of me, a fire's at my heels,

I'm tired of brick and stone and rumbling wagon-wheels;

I hunger for the sea's edge. the limit of the land,

Where the wild old Atlantic is shouting on the sand.



Oh I'll be going, leaving the noises of the street,

To where a lifting foresail-foot is yanking at the sheet;

To a windy, tossing anchorage where yawls and ketches ride,

Oh I'll be going, going until I meet the tide.



And first I'll hear the sea-wind, the mewing of the gulls,

The clucking, sucking of the sea about the rusty hulls,

The songs at the capstan at the hooker warping out,

and then the heart of me'll know I'm there or thereabout.



Oh I'm sick of brick and stone, the heart of me is sick,

For windy green, unquiet sea, the realmof Moby Dick;

And I'll be going, going, from the roaring of the wheels,

For a wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels.



~John Masefield



Vincent van Gogh: Wheatfield with Cypresses

The poem "A Wanderer's Song," by John Masefield is about a man who is bored of his home and is planning on leaving so that he can sail the seas. Many people in different countries dream of traveling the world one day and some never do. Some people prefer just to dream. If people were never adventurous and never tried new things, our whole world would be quite different and we would not have most of the things that we have today. This poem is about a man who is not afraid to go after his dreams or shoot for the stars, this man can't wait to set off on his big adventure. Everybody has an adventurous side and because of some people's thirst for adventure throughout the past, we have everything that we have today, including our knowledge of the world and our history. We all are adventurous and we should all go after our dreams and continue discovering new things.

Wisdom From Observation

Lise Carlson: Crazy Wisdom

Wisdom

Wisdom spins through the corridors of the mind

Cloaked in a radiant cover

He leaves behind a path of knowledge and understanding

Paulo Coelho had many thoughts about themes such as wisdom in his novel, The Alchemist. Throughout the story, the main character, a boy named Santiago, meets many wise people including an old king, a crystal merchant, and even an alchemist. At one point the alchemist tells the boy about the Emerald Tablet and how many people were unable to understand what was written on it because man began to reject simple things. I think that this shows how wisdom is not just knowing things because you read about them , but understanding how things work and what things are and mean. Sometimes, the best way to learn is by experience and going out into the worldto see different people and cultures for yourself. All cultures are different and understand and learn things in different ways. Some cultures learn by observation, like Santiago did, while others learn by reading books, like the Englishman the boy meets on his journey. Throughout the novel, The Alchemist, there are many thoughts regarding themes including wisdom and knowledge.

Destiny

A Quest of Omens and Dreams

“If he hadn’t believed in the significance of recurrent dreams, he would not have met the Gypsy woman, the king, the thief, or… ‘Well it’s a long list. But the path was written in omens, and there was no way I could go wrong”’ (Coelho 159). Because he believed in omens and dreams, Santiago, a young shepherd boy, was led on a long journey to find his destiny after he had had a recurrent dream about a treasure. Santiago’s quest led him from his home in Andalusia, Spain all the way to the deserts of Egypt. He met many people along the way, including an old king, a girl named Fatima, and an alchemist who led him across the desert. Santiago possessed many qualities that helped him through his journey, such as open-mindedness, adventurousness, and intuitiveness.

Santiago constantly kept an open-mind throughout his journey. He always considered all of his options, even if some of them meant that he would be giving up on his destiny. At one point Santiago debated that “maybe it was better to be like the crystal merchants: never go to Mecca, and just go through life wanting to do so” (Coelho 61). Many times Santiago felt like giving up, but his heart told him to keep on going. Open-mindedness led Santiago on his journey and kept him going on his long, seemingly endless quest to fulfill his destiny.

Adventurousness is another quality that Santiago possessed. He was bold when he left home to become a Shepherd instead of becoming a priest because he had no idea what lay ahead. His father once told him that “the people that come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel […] amongst us, the only ones who can travel are the shepherds” (Coelho 9). It was at that point that Santiago decided he wanted to become a shepherd because he had always wanted to travel. Because of his travels, Santiago later understood the Language of the Universe, and because of this he was able to see through to the Soul of the World. Santiago was adventurous by following his intuition throughout his travels, and this helped him to fulfill his destiny.

Throughout the book, Santiago followed his intuition. Even though sometimes he hesitated, in the end, he knew that following his instinct was the right thing to do. When the alchemist told Santiago that he would lead him across the desert, Santiago wavered because he wanted to stay with Fatima, a desert woman that he had fallen in love with. But after a debate with the alchemist, the boy finally said, “’I’m going with you. ‘[…]And he immediately felt peace in his heart” (Coelho 116). This shows that Santiago was sometimes unsure if he should follow his heart, but he knew that he needed to fulfill his destiny if he wanted to be content. Santiago’s intuition always led him on the right path, and when it finally led him to his treasure, he was relieved that he had listened.

Open-mindedness, adventurousness, and intuitiveness are all qualities that helped Santiago along his quest to find his treasure. Because he always kept an open-mind, Santiago was led on his incredible adventure, which he would not have completed had he not followed his intuition. These three traits kept Santiago going and allowed him to fulfill his destiny and meet many new people along the way. Santiago was led on this remarkable quest just by following omens and dreams and by trusting in his inner voice.

Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night

Your Destiny Depends on You

We are all participants in our own destinies. Whether we follow our destiny or not depends on the choices we make. This is why I like to be open-minded, because the choices that we make now can affect our future. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on you. It's always good to stop and think about the vast decisions in life and alway consider all of your options and their outcomes. I think that we all have an open-mind, some people more than others. At some point in our lives we think about the consequences of our actions and the choices that we have, but it's good to always think about things before you do them. Keeping an open-mind and an active imagination can get you far. We do have a say in our destinies, and if you keep an open-mind and make the best choices you can, you will have a great life ahead of you.