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.