
The clown stumbled to the center of the stage,
Into the spotlight for a tinker’s age,
“I’m guessing that I now must talk,
Since I am no longer allowed to walk,
And I cannot claim I am a mime,
So, now I have to deal in rhyme.”
The seats were empty, so no one cheered,
But that also meant that no one jeered.

The Silent Orchestra of the Universe
“Poetry is Music,” the clown said, “And there is music in the stars,
Silent music, of course, made of light and novas, asteroids. and comets,
Dancing through the cosmos, and not stopping in at bars.”
Then he burped the alcohol inside him with a face portending vomits.

“Words are music, rhythm, rhyme, and melody.
We make our way from day to day upon the primrose path they lay.
I speak now, fulfill my part, and so, I speak my soliloquy…
As my very instrument, in the universal orchestra, I play.”
A ghostly moan in the empty seats was nearly really heard
And the clown, he gawked and stared about in every spin-necked way.
“I do not believe I find relief in this absent throng… with words
That come from no one nowhere… so, I’ll be on my way.”























The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Some books come along telling a story that has to be taken seriously in ways that don’t make sense in any normal way. The Alchemist is one of those books.
What is an alchemist, after all?
An alchemist uses the medieval forms of the art of chemistry to transmute things, one thing becoming another thing.
Coelho in this book is himself an alchemist of ideas. He uses this book to transmute one idea into another until he digs deep enough into the pile of ideas to finally transmute words into wisdom.
There is a great deal of wisdom in this book, and I can actually share some of it here without spoiling the story.
Here are a few gemstones of wisdom from the Alchemist’s treasure chest;
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting…” (p.13)
“It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.” (p.17)
“All things are one. And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” (p.24)
“And when he had gone only a short distance, he realized that, while they were erecting the stall, one of them had spoken Arabic and the other Spanish. And they had understood each other perfectly well. There must be a language that doesn’t depend on words, the boy thought.” (p.45)
All of these quotes from the book, as you can see, come from the first third of the book. There are many more treasures to be found in this book. I should not share them with you here. Just as the main character of the story learns, you have to do the work for yourself. But this book is not only an enjoyable read, but a map for how you can execute your own journey towards your “Personal Legend”. In fact, you may find that the book tells you not only how to go about making a dream come true, but, if you are already on that journey successfully, it tells you what things you are already doing right.
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