The Alchemist - Away to Return

The book my senior talked about

These days, many people would have read one of best seller spiritual novel The Alchemist that written by a Brazilian novelist, Paulo Coelho. I first heard it from my college friends back on my undergraduate study. I read them for more than once, but I NEVER once understand what it really means, till just a few months ago.

---

Away to Return

Actually this phrase doesn't come from me, but from a senior in my working place. How did we came into this term? I remembered one time when some of my colleagues and I talked about journey, trip, hometown, and those kind of things. I have left my family to live by myself since I was in senior high, and I mentioned to my colleagues how I have never been used to go again each time I come home. There is always this feeling like 'Will I come back? Will things be as okay as now when I come back again?'. Although this feeling will go as quickly as it appears after I arrive at my destination. But they will always be there, whenever I come back to my hometown.

And just after that my senior said this to me, "Have you read The Alchemist, Miss Pijar? It is just the same as you mention it, we will be away just to return."

When my office hour ended, I rushed to a bookstore, grabbed the novel, paid for it, and read it as soon as I arrived home.

And only at that time I caught things up.

---

And there is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with it

A week ago, I had this talk again with my seniors. One of them is quite an eccentric but very smart colleague. He shared his experience of how he came into terms on problems he had. He said things like, "I don't believe that I actually pray, (it is not my style to pray to God). I pray because I am afraid that I will have no food to eat. I pray to God not to let that thing happens to me and my family. And then I think, if actually I must come back to God, I want it because I really want to come back, not because I am afraid. I feel like a non-believer that just find a God."

Hearing that, I just simply smiled. And my senior who saw me said, "See? It is just away to return."

My senior and my other senior (who is actually my upperclassman in college) told this smart colleague of mine that everything is okay; there is nothing wrong on finding God that way; how it shows that we, human, are just weak creatures; and maybe that's how God shows us the way. I only listened to them very carefully, making sure that I didn't let any words slipped out.

"If you are on an honest journey to find yourself, you'll find God." Martin Sheen