Yeah, I said it.
The Alchemist with its message of the universe conspiring to make our dreams come true is (in my humble opinion) a bunch of baloney. When I first read the book 10 years ago, I was totally on board. I wanted to believe it. I bought it hook, line and sinker.
So did everyone else apparently. As of 2012, this book has been translated into at least 56 languages and has sold over 30 million copies.
But my feelings about it over the years have changed. Why? Because we don’t function in a vacuum. Our actions have consequences and affect others. If one person wins, it means there are losers. Picture this scenario: What if your goal is to win a baseball game or be the best team ever? Well, the universe conspiring to make that happen for you means it’s working against the other team. And all I can say to that is “WTF?!? Not cool, Universe.” That kind of arbitrariness is not something I want to live with. Not to mention that karma will tell you that wishing that kind of bad juju on someone else is going to land you in a whole heap of trouble. (Disclaimer: I am not necessarily a believer of the machinations of karma either).
So what do I believe? Personally, I take huge comfort in the idea that the universe is neither working for me or against me. Things just are – whether they’re beautiful or ugly. Imagine how much better it would feel for everyone if we were all prepared for and accepted whatever life threw our way? I don’t mean settling or compromising but more like doing our best and if things don’t go well despite our efforts, then so be it. That’s just how it’s going to be. Peace and coming to terms with unpleasant things happens so much more quickly when I don’t spend time trying to analyze and re-analyze everything. Ultimately, we will never know the “why” behind the events in our lives anyway. Though I guess you could then argue that it doesn’t matter what you believe or what rationalization you attach to life events… (If that works for you, why not?)
We are all so caught up in trying to find the meaning of life or trying to figure out how the universe works. Whether things happen for a reason… Or whether if we behaved in some terrible way (in this life or a past one) and simply “got what was coming to us…” I don’t know if spending time trying to figure that out serves a purpose when the truth will never be known. Why can’t we just be good to ourselves and others?
Like the Staple Singers sing in their song “Respect yourself:”
If you’re walkin’ round think’n that the world
owes you something ’cause you’re here,
You goin’ out the world backwards like you did
when you first come here…
But in case I am wrong and the Universe really is paying attention, then I would like him to know that I am still interested in, nay, dedicated to winning the lottery. And that I’m being good, praying to him every night and I have left him some milk and cookies for when he comes down my chimney. 🙂
Photo via Flickr (Creative Commons) by H.Koppdelaney.
Yogitastic 
Bravo! Great post, yogitasticI I read the book years ago also and wanted so badly to believe it, being an optimistic person to no end. But there is an almost perverse underlying message of unconditional self-entitlement if we only just follow our intuition…. Being human, we’re prone to searching for truth and meaning which is a beautiful thing, but it’s also pretty dangerous when done on a large scale, institutional level. And you’ve made a wonderful point, the truth will never be known so why can’t we just be good to ourselves and others?
Yes! There is that “underlying message of unconditional self-entitlement.” You said that perfectly. (Damn it, Cheyenne… I wish I’d thought of it.) I know I’m probably going to get a lot of heat for writing this but I just can’t sit here and nod my head. Sometimes stuff just happens. It’s still going to be okay.