The Beauty of Patience

Patience rolls into the boy's mind

Thinking coldly in his ripped clothes

As he waits patiently under the falling sun.

In The Alchemist, Coelho reveals the value that the personal legend or destiny is not achieved over night, but through the long period of patience with a series of challenges. Sometimes we need to be more patient and wait longer than we think to get things done as Santiago has to wait for more than 11 months to be ready for his next adventurous journey working at the crystal shop. During 11 months he learned many things through conversation with the owner and dealing with the customers in many different ways. So patience is not just to spend time waiting for something, but to learn something valuable waiting for the time God allows. Regardless of time periods and cultures, Coelho is telling us that what eventually allows people to achieve their life goal is not time, but what people do during the time they wait. It’s painful for Fatima to say goodbye to Santiago as she loves Santiago so much. However, she does it willingly because she believes that Santiago will come back. Patience is painful, but as long as there is a belief and hope it’s valuable. This is the beauty of patience.