I once heard a quote, and I certainly think it can apply to many of us as we move through our journeys and go after what we want.

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

Our lives are full of distractions. We get distracted by advertisements pushing us to purchase products may not need. Drama and social gossip, giving us no real benefit, just filling our nosey curiosity. Social media and games consume our time as well, and it is not that these things are bad and need to be excommunicated from our lives, but rather it is imperative to find more time in our lives to listen.

One of my favorite novels, The Alchemist, tells the story of a young boy, Santiago, who lives his life as a shepherd boy in the farmlands of Spain. One night, he lies down under a tree, and falls asleep. He has a dream of treasure, and sees grand pyramids behind it. When he wakes up, he knows the vision holds a great importance, and goes in search of it. He sells his sheep, and begins his journey in search of the treasure he dreamt about. He finds himself in many places as he makes his way to Egypt, and soon finds himself entering the desert, the last path he must cross to reach his treasure. As he moves with a caravan through the barren desert, he meets a lone alchemist in a small oasis village. The alchemist takes Santiago under his wing, and agrees to travel with the boy to find his treasure. As they move, the alchemist teaches Santiago of great wisdom, and about an idea he calls, the Soul of the World. Slowly as the journey continues, Santiago learns that by listening to the heart, and the signs of the world around him, he can become part of the Soul of the World. He sees the messages in the stars, feels wisdom in the sand, and meditates on the desert, wind, and sun., transforming himself and becoming one with the Soul of the World. Soon he realizes that the journey was his true destiny, and it was revealed to him purely by his heart and the world around him.

The Alchemist is a very simplistic novel, but tells an extremely powerful story and shares equally powerful wisdom that each of us can perceive and apply in our own way. As Santiago listens to the world around him, he gains more knowledge about his own life. He feels more connected to nature, and in turn, more connected to his own heart and feelings. We live in an extremely busy and hectic world today, but when we stop and listen for a moment, there is so much life can reveal to us.Thinking you know it all and having no other wisdom to gain is not bliss, but rather blatantly ignorant.

We can also think about this quote in the perspective of success and failure. It takes great courage to work to succeed in an honest way, and honor and applause is deserved, but rarely do we think about the courage it takes during failure. We learn more in failure than we ever can in success, and it takes great strength to open our minds and be receptive to hear the lessons failure teaches. Understand: failure is not a problem, failure is purely a mystery meant to be understood. When we open up and listen to what it has to tell us, we leave learning a valuable lesson that can make it difficult to even feel as though we failed at all. If we al adopted the state of mind to not fear failure, can you imagine how much more willing we would all be to go after our dreams?

It takes a great amount of courage and bravery to open ourselves up to the wisdom of the world. There is so much wisdom and knowledge to be gained, and if we consistently close ourselves off to all of that, that is offered to us, we gain nothing. I challenge all of you today to listen. Find soul in everything you do and see, and find something to gain from every experience, and every failure. Next time life is crazy, and stress seems to take over your mind, think of Santiago and the alchemist, and open your heart to the wisdom you can bring in. Listen to the wind, look up at the sky, and transcend whatever brings you down, and get one step closer to being one with the Soul of the World, and all the wisdom that it teaches. -Hunter Jones