A Walk to Remember – Nicholas Sparks

The first thing that came to mind as I read about Jamie Sullivan, if we could be bit of ....the kind of girl, Jamie was. If it was not for her, Landon Carter’s story of love would not have been anything different...There is a reason for the people being placed along our path; one of us will be in the giving and the other in the receiving end. The instances in the book that I particularly liked: each role having their own significance, interconnection of Christmas play in the story and Jamie’s life, them reading the bible together, getting along, carter learning that it is our actions more than our intentions that matters.

The story comes to a closure without much account of what happened after the walk. Probably the memories and what she taught through her living, was suffice for him to live his life...

 

Life is what you make it (A story of love, hope and how determination can overcome even destiny) – Preethi Shenoy
Very original, as if somebody’s biography. The earlier pages of the book, leaves us wondering, how can life become a test to Anks but later we get to know. The story seems, being told by the challenger. But I would have liked it more had it been the story of love, hope and determination we show for ourselves and overcoming the destiny instead of it coming from other’s side.

The girl at her earlier years did not share a close relation with her parents, was more inclined academically and towards her friends. Kept the issues for herself and did not discuss it with them till she reached the point where she could no more take it...thus she pushed herself to the edge of the cliff.
Many of us do it, although the situation may not turn that fatal, we either behave thoughtlessly or we over bother... at the end of the episode leaving oneself with critical emotions such as guilt, sorrow, dilemma, despair, emptiness. At present we may not have much to deal with but it is often the thoughts from the past or about future that traps. Life would surely appear tolerable if we only learn to balance what and how much we think about oneself and about others and the circumstance.

Like the Flowing River – Paulo Coelho

Life brought out well through short stories ( some, to our surprise, running only half a page)...the end of each story is something to look out for. Many of these tales have pointers here and there which are to be re read  as it is has so much (substance) to say. Like, the comparison of the weeds in the garden to detrimental thought in our mind, “when something undesirable grows in my soul, I ask god to give me the same courage to mercilessly to pluck it out”, “...in the absence of bitterness, love...really is enough”...has helped me to find  answers to my own vagueness.

 The stories which i enjoyed most,: “The story of the pencil” [remembered, one of our teachers telling it to us during high school send off function; wish, i had known its meaning then(never mind)], “How to climb mountains”, “How one thing can contain everything”, “The pianist in the shopping mall”, “Of books and libraries”(motivating to give away the books that has inspired me), “For the woman who is all women”, “Statutes for the new millennium”, “Transitory glory”, “The cloud and the sand dune”, “Alone on the road”...well thought of  titles. Could find some similar reference even in ‘ The Alchemist’... however, am surely gonna refer to these again and didnt want the book to end, quite contrary to what the writer asks us, ‘to be like the flowing river’ , that never stops, never retraces its path:)
[for more insight on how to be “like the flowing river”, check out the writer's website]

The seven spiritual laws of success-Deepak Chopra:

The book which I picked up this time was a pocket guide, ‘The seven spiritual laws of success’ can finish in an hour but preferred to take in slowly.

It is the reinforcement of what we already know- ‘the natural laws’ and that we tend to forget often. Rather than grabbing a pocket guide same but more voluminous book may have more content.

What I could draw from reading:

 “... seven spiritual laws: the law of pure potentiality, the law of giving and receiving, the law of karma or cause and effect, the law of least effort, the law of intention and desire, the law of detachment, the law of dharma or purpose in life.”

Pure Potentiality (pure consciousness): when we are on a go our mind may be agitated but if we are meditating, close to nature we would be calm. In such a state if we plant a thought or a wish in our mind, there is greater possibility of its manifestation, this relaxation can even energise us.

Giving and Receiving: we should learn to give to others what we want for ourselves in our lives-love, affection, care, kindness, forgiveness, gifts, blessings...

Cause and Effect: for every word said, thought, deed there is equal reaction. At times it may not be apparent, but soon it would return to us... so all this got to be in the best interest.

Least Effort: if our actions are guided by purity, humanity and other noble motives, then least effort is required from our side to see it take place. Here we are called upon to have acceptance and shoulder responsibilities towards the happenings as everything has a reason.

Intention and Desire: our life’s energy flows in the direction of our thoughts. If we start paying attention to then that would amplify or else it will diminish. It’s like following the medication or taking our mind of something if we are unnecessarily bothering ourselves.

Detachment: taking needed steps in the present remaining detached about the result while waiting patiently for it to come about.

Purpose in life: all of us own unique talent through which we can serve the humanity could be a heart of serving others, equipped with some skill, something that would make our living better (intelligence), even entertainment arena that can cheer up the mass.

How about a life centred around human values than on convictions which has no answer to questions like whys...?

The Alchemist (A fable about following your dreams) -Paulo Coelho 

What could be considered the zest of ‘The Alchemist’ fable, ‘pursue even at odds what our heart knows is right (for us)’ is the answer I got. They say, the hour just before the dawn, is the darkest and it is then we tend to give in. From those who are for creating/breaking records to those dealing with their own personal endeavour if we push ourselves and keep going for some more time then... we have it. When we reach ‘there’ the destination may be immaterial and make us forget what we have been through but the entire voyage would have taught us a lot.

Writing a review for ‘The Alchemist’ isn’t easy. If a thought appeals to one, it is believed hours of repeating to ourselves and practice is needed to infuse it to life and the book has many of such beliefs.

To start, Alchemists are the practitioners of Alchemy. Alchemy is turning base metals into noble metals like gold or silver (conferring youth and immortality)...  the meaning that appealed to me is transforming a thing of less value to great value and this happens when we come to know what we are called for and need to do. In other words what’s life’s fulfilment for you? We are speaking of life’s fulfilment so it is not relevant only to present but even to our future more precisely, “will we be happy doing/ having it no matter what” It could be specific like travelling and finding a treasure for shepherd boy Santiago or something boundless. This should let us know our objectives and priorities.

What is valuable to one may not be for other.  If we find and believe ‘this is it’ and why we are here, it becomes priceless.

 Am akin to mentioning the lines that caught reading:

“... if you believe yourself worthy of the thing you fought so hard to get, then you become an instrument of god, you help the soul of the world and you understand why you are here.”

“...ever since he had been a child, he had wanted to know the world, and this was much more important to him than knowing god and learning about man’s sins.”

“...most important, he was able every day to live out his dream.”

“By the time he had enough of....he would have already known other chances to be happy”

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

 “...at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie:”

“We make a lot of detours, but we are always heading for the same direction”

“...I don’t live either in my past or my future. I’m interested only in present. If you can concentrate always on present, you’ll be a happy man...because life is the moment where you are living right now.” (“Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that god loves his children.”)

“Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning.” “...it’s not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it’s not love to see everything from a distance...” “... when we love we always strive to become better than we are”

“...when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”

“If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back.”

 “Listen to your heart, it knows all things...” “Don’t give in to your fears, if you do, you won’t be able to talk to your heart.”

“... life really is generous to those who pursue their destiny...”

And more...

Not to forget checking out, if at all Santiago unearthed the treasure but what he transformed himself into.

We are fortunate enough to study the wisdom shared by innumerable novelists, ‘The alchemist’ is one such book which one would like to go through again. It was a good but a short escapade, once you grab it you will not want to put it back.