Nov 3, 2025
Walking through darkness with thoughts full of colors".
Prajakta Mhadnak
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Walking through darkness with thoughts full of colors".
Prajakta Mhadnak
—Ray C. Stedman
—Ray C. Stedman
Romans 12:12
New International Version (©1984)
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
English Standard Version (©2001)Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The flight or fight mode.
Flight.
That's what I want to do when presented with problems/discomforts/bad thought patterns. (my thoughts are so self-deprecating and irrational sometimes).
And it is only when I am absolutely crippled and can see no way out, that I call out to God for help. I don't necessarily call to God in the littlest of things.
And, I think it is important. Because the littlest things can build up into a mountain.
So, lesson is. Learn how to pray in the little things. Because He is more than happy to help in those things too.
What The Alchemist teaches you about listening to your heart
Have you read The Alchemist?
Those who have been made weary by the dreariness of everyday life will find this book a refreshing drink for the soul.
It has been a refreshing drink for my soul.
The novel follows the shepherd boy on his journey, as he seeks out his destiny - from his early years in the monastery to his decision to become a shepherd boy so he can travel the world.
Partake in his experiences in Andalusia, his sojourn across the desert to follow a dream that promises to lead him to find treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt, and meet the people he meets along the way. The King of Salem, the baker, thief, merchant, Englishman, a stranger in the desert who becomes the love of his life, and finally, the alchemist himself.
There are mishaps, there are successes. But through it all, he learns to listen to his heart, and his revelations are profound and life changing.
The novel reminds me to listen to my heart.
To see the "omens" - signs and signposts everywhere around us, pointing to the existence of something greater than ourselves, to recognise a hand at work bringing all things - good and evil - together for a purpose.
It reminds me that the best choices I've made in life have been formed from the strength of the conviction that have arisen out of listening to the stirring of what's deep inside.
The novel also sounds a warning to just how easy it is for the heart to become dull and calloused, for one to lose sight of the passions and dreams that have once inspired and motivated, and to allow fear, scarcity and pragmatism creep in step by step and chart a very different course from what we originally intended for our lives.
But all things said, the beauty of books like The Alchemist is that it's no good merely finding out what other people's listening points are. Your heart will only be moved when you go along the journey and find out what your heart says to you.
What books have you read that have caused you to reach inside your heart and examine what's there?
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.
Marcus Aurelius