THE ALCHEMIST- My interpretation!

The beginning of the book sparked an element of curiousity in me by centering itself on a boy who wanted to understand his dream. The sheperd boy, despite being literate, went on to follow his heart by becoming a sheperd in the mere belief that he could travel the world with his sheep. His experience as a sheperd and his acumen for understanding complex signs helped him understand his immediate surroundings through his sheep's eyes. The real story starts when recurring dreams of the pyramids and hidden treasures disturb his mind. The boy , in search of its meaning, comes across many who help him reach his treasure. Of course, no path is easy! The boy encounters a lot of obstacles  in his journey and through each painful hurdle, he gains a better understanding of the Language of the world( Language of the world simply means his ability to read signs from nature) And his understanding of the world helps him realize his destinty- which is the so called 'treasure'. This may be a rags to riches story, but certainly has some significant meaning  which I'm going to interpret. There are certainly close parallels between the story and our own lives.

 The 'soul of the world' has an ambiguous meaning and is open for interpretation. Basically, it is a force that communicates with you and helps you achieve your inner most desires. By communicating with the soul of the world, you are basically communicating with your inner self as it helps you realize what you want and shows you the way. What I inferred was that sometimes, you need to spend time reading the nature and its signals, or 'omens' as Paulo Coehlo calls it, as they can guide you to your destiny.A common question that crops up in the reader's mind is: does destiny really exist? Has some higher power already written the future? Paulo Coehlo mentions that if the soul wants something, the entire universe conspires to achieve it. And there lies the answer. If the soul yearns for something, it looks desperately for it. Desire is like a centripetal force. Energy emanates from it which interacts with the nature , making nature understand the soul and hence responds to it.These are the signs or omens that Paulo refers to. This is why, the sheperd spent his life reading little signs from the nature as nature had a better understanding of his soul and what it required. In the end, treausre is mere happiness! Whatever makes one happy is their treausre and I do believe that the universe conspires to make one happy.