A Talk With an Alchemist.... (Part 1)

I walked and walked. I was walking on the path of my life. At one place, I stopped because I was tired. I took my chance and looked in front of me and I saw miles and miles of road stretched across. I couldn't see the end to the road. I, then, had the sudden urge to look behind and I was shocked to see my past. I could see patches of deserts at some point of the road and there were stretches of greenery at some other points on the road. After seeing all this, I got very scared. and quickly turned away from my past. I had become very discouraged because I did not what was in store for me in the future and there were constant thoughts about my past too. In all of this confusion, I had totally forgotten my present.So, I sat down in the middle of the road and started crying. I was crying very badly. "Wrong, Very Wrong," said a voice behind me.I still continued weeping. That person held his hand out his hand to me. I held his hand and got up.
I was curious to know what was wrong so I asked him, "What is wrong, sir?" He looked elderly. "The way you look at life is wrong, child," he said, "Imprint my words in your mind- LOOK AT THE PAST ONLY TO LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. YOU MUST NOT LOOK AT THE PAST EITHER TO BOAST ABOUT YOUR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS OR TO GET DISCOURAGED BECAUSE IF YOUR PAST MISTAKES."
 "Okay, sir," I had said, "Thank you, sir. May I know who you are?: "I am," he said, "AN ALCHEMIST." "An alchemist, sir?" I asked. He said, "The meaning of an alchemist comes from alchemy. Alchemy is the transformation of lead or copper or iron or any other metal to gold by purifying them i.e. heating it. Though you all don't believe, it still exists. Now let us come back to your situation. Self pity or timidity or fear will never take you ahead in life. In fact, they are hindrances that obstruct you from reaching your goals or destiny." "There is a slight problem there sir," I said, "I have no idea where I am going in life. I mean that I have not yet decided My Destiny."

To this he asked, "Why?" "Well," I replied, "My parents and loved ones SUGGEST that I become a Chartered Accountant." "Okay," he said,"Then where's the problem?" "The problem is I want to do Journalism instead." THE ALCHEMIST had a positive aura around him. I could feel the positivity and I had a good feeling when he was around so I shared everything with him.