The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient Wisdom

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This is the 4th Paulo Coelho book I've read, and my least favorite so far. Not that there's anything wrong with it, per se, but I can definitely see his evolution as a writer from this (his first) to The Witch of Portobello (his most recent and one of my faves). Learning to take everything literally is part of my course, so I try not to see a metaphor in the fact that the boy learns more from sheep than from books. But I do have a question or two:

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The book harps on about tapping into the Soul of the World, the Language of the World, about your one true path and other nonsense. The basic idea is that if you really want something and "listen to your heart", the whole universe will help you achieve it if you only look for omens. A questionable idea in a world where people no longer want to work hard and achieve independently. She is an adrenaline junkie. From scuba diving to sky diving, she has tried them all. She is also an avid traveller, which has opened her mind to new experiences, ideas and cultures. A devotee of Ayn Rand and an agnostic until now, she has finally taken the first step to understand and explore spirituality. Stay tuned because she is bound to keep adding more feathers to her cap. Learning, and learning alone, is her sole life purpose.

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The Pilgrimage – HarperCollins The Pilgrimage – HarperCollins

Its not that I find anything wrong with these messages. They are important, but must be balanced with responsibility. In my experience, 'following your dreams' (or personal legend) is not the only way toward wisdom and strength. Is the person who struggles to put food on the table every day for his or her family, consciously realizing that he or she may not be following his or her 'personal legend' any less heroic than some traveler who leaves everything and everyone he or she is responsible for to go on a spiritual quest? Coelho comes close to labeling such people, as losers in life, which I find completely off the mark as some of these people have the most to offer in terms of wisdom. The secret is', Petrus finally said, 'you can only learn when you are teaching. Together we have walked the Strange Way to Santiago, but while you learned the ways, I learned the meaning of them. By explaining them to you, I really learned them myself. By becoming a guide I found my own way."

Utter drivel. The book was badly written, righteous, condescending, preachy, and worst of all, the ending was morally questionable. All the fables and stories are stolen from elsewhere, religious ideas and spirituality are badly mixed, and everything is so obvious. This journey is about self discovery, fighting with your own demons, letting your heart being your own eyes and leading you throughout the dark and threatening roads of life. It’s epic, uplifting, motivational, inspirational,heartfelt, poignant! Sometimes theres a sign that something really great is about to happen. You’re about to grow and learn a lot more about yourself. His first stop during the pilgrimage is Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port where he is given a cape and a hat with scallop shells (a dress code for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela). He then meets his guide Petrus, who accompanies him through the pilgrimage across a sacred path illuminated by the light of the Milky Way Galaxy. As they travel through the desert, Coelho learns valuable life lessons. He learns to tap into his intuition, to love unconditionally, and to enjoy the journey without worrying about the destination. The guide also teaches Coelho several ‘exercises’ which Coelho intensely practices as his journey progresses. With each exercise, Coelho undergoes an inner transformation—he learns to dream, fight the demons within, accept his imperfections, and even overcome fear. The Pilgrimage paved the way to Paulo Coelho’s international bestselling novel The Alchemist. In many ways, these two volumes are companions—to truly comprehend one, you must read the other.