Yesterday I finished The Pilgrimage and today I started The Alchemist. Both books I’d had on my reading list for far too long, but am finally reading them thanks to a gift from a lovely human (who is kinda a big deal in some circles). I’m already halfway through The Alchemist and have started to fret about finishing it before my vacation ends. That’s a sign of a great book: I want it to last, but enjoy it so much I can’t put it down.
So much talk of omens and the Universal language that often gets ignored in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We forget that everything talks to us…sending us signs and clues and gifts so we can move closer to that which is most true. So we can move closer to our Personal Legend.
According to Coehlo, your Personal Legend “…is your blessing, the path God has chosen for you here on Earth. Whenever a man does that which gives him enthusiasm, he is following his Legend. However, not everyone has the courage to face up to his own dreams.”
Or as I like to think of it – that thing we dreamt of becoming when we were kids, but discarded because we became responsible, educated adults.
It only makes sense that once I chucked it all (meaning my career) to seek out love that I’d be moving closer to my Personal Legend without necessarily being aware of exactly what my Legend is. All I knew is that something was missing from my life…something that I needed – deserved – to find and that quest demanded my full attention.
So here I am. Retired. On the beach in Key West. Clearing my head and listening to the Universal language in search of my Legend.
When I first arrived on the island, I was a little nervous that I might have made the wrong decision. My ear drum felt on the verge of exploding thanks to some Indiana allergies and a quick Southwest descent. I felt like I was floating outside of my body, partly because of my ear but most likely due to the early morning flight. Worst of all, the stirring in my soul that I’d felt each visit before wasn’t there. This trip was not starting off like I’d hoped so I decided to sit with it and wait. And I waited…
Five days later, as I sat at a Cafe Moka to escape the hot afternoon sun I started to notice how quiet it was. Sure it was a toasty afternoon and lots were probably napping, but the people that were riding and walking by weren’t talking or making any noise. I was sitting in silence…and loving it. Alone with just my thoughts I began to become aware of how happy I felt. I was….at peace…in want of nothing. In that moment I was reassured that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I was meant to feel the serenity in the silence because in the silence I could hear what was really being said.
India will happen another time but now was not the right time. The noise and stimulus would have been too much. I needed the solitude of an island…of a solo trip to an island…to clear my head and my heart. I needed to get re-acquainted with myself. Of who I am and who I want to be. Of what is important and the kind of life I want to live.
I needed to hear…to feel…that I’m on the right path. That I’m doing the things that are right for me. The things that make me happy. That stirring in my soul that was missing…it was a feeling I used to get when I’d visit the island. It was a feeling that I was suppose to write.
It’s gone and has been replaced with a quiet enthusiasm…because I am writing. I’m writing my story, here. In this blog – everyday. In doing so I’m working through old shit…through new shit…but most importantly, I’m getting to know myself better. I’m moving closer to my Personal Legend…and it feels really, really good. It feels good because I want to be a writer.
“When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it.” — Paulo Coehlo
Day 6 in Key West 🙂