These few days, I’ve been packing my books, then I found a book called THE ALCHEMIST, which I’ve already read three times. It is not only a fantastic story of the treasure seekers, but also tells us about future, about dream, and about how to choose when you’re in a dilemma.
When you read it, you’ll find a lot of philosophical conversations, sentences and stories. However, they are not that difficult to understand. I’ll share one story to you. This is a story told to the main character, the sheepherder named Santiago, by an old man who called himself as the king of Salem.
"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.
"Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.
"The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.
" 'Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,' said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. 'As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.'
"The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.
" 'Well,' asked the wise man, 'did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?'
"The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.
" 'Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,' said the wise man. 'You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house.'
"Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.
" 'But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?' asked the wise man.
"Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
" 'Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,' said the wisest of wise men. 'The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.' "
今天分享一本书，叫<<牧羊少年奇幻之旅>>。这本书让小孩子看是完全看得懂的，对他们来说完全是本童话书，故事的大意是牧羊少年圣地亚哥接连两次做了同一个梦，梦见埃及金字塔附近藏有一批宝藏。之后他在撒冷之王的指引下，卖掉羊群，历尽千辛万苦一路向南，跨海来到非洲，穿越“死亡之海”撒哈拉大沙漠……期间奇遇不断，在一位炼金术士的指引下，他终于到达金字塔前，悟出了宝藏的真正所在。
这本书不像是心灵鸡汤，读起来很美好，作者一直想说的，就是“当你下定决心做一件事的时候，全世界都会来帮助你。”其实有点像朗达·拜恩写的《秘密》里的吸引力法则那样，念想美好未来，吸引力法则就会把它给你。很多人会去从逻辑上找它的漏洞，或者有截然相反的思想，比如你不去想成功，成功就会找上你。
就像我的哲学老师当初跟我们说的，我们可以不信他的因果论（其中他提到有一部分女生遭到侵犯，究其原因是她们衣着暴露，举止不端，告诉我们要洁身自好），但是他强调，不管你看到什么理论，只要是有用的，让社会变得更好的，他都愿意去理解。
