Once again, I put down another Paulo Coehlo book, entitled "The Devil and Miss Prym", and ponders the same question: "Are human beings, in essence, good or evil?" I'd like to believe that we are inherently good, heck, I even included it in my 10 Commandments to HappYness. Personally, amidst the pain and hurt that other people may inflict on me, whether intentional or not, I couldn't bring myself to hate them. If I dwell on the evils in this world, I would only end up feeling depressed and helpless. I wouldn't also be a hypocrite and say that I am a really good person, because I've done things that I am not proud of, and I may have caused misery to other people too.
The novel is indeed about temptation, whether to murder someone from the village in exchange for ten gold bars and for Miss Prym (the lead character) to take one bar of gold and leave everything behind. Our daily temptations are not as lucrative as these, yet we still struggle, whether to do good or evil. Again, it all boils down to choice.
Moreover, the book tackles about following your dreams, and getting what you want out of life. I'd like to share a few lines which hit me:
"...there are two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: a fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar."
"...whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is that you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed."
Sometimes I am confused of what it is that I really want, but when you take a closer look, you'll know what or who your heart desires. The only hard part is the "how" and answering the question, "Is it worth it?"
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