The Alchemist Theme

In The Alchemist, the seer asks the camel driver why he wants to know his future, and the camel driver responds, “because I am a man…And men always live their lives based on the future.” (Coelho 107) Upon the camel driver’s answer, the seer refuses to cast the twigs, insisting that the future cannot be told, only guessed at. He goes on to tell the camel driver that the “secret is here in the present.” (Coelho 108) This is fitting with one of the many themes of The Alchemist, that one shouldn't anticipate the future more than they live in the present. This theme appears later in the novel when the alchemist tells Santiago, “fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” (Coelho 137) It is a theme that is offered several times over the course of the book, each time it helped Santiago on his journey. This suggests that the author intends for us to accept this theme as a truth. If one is to assume that “man” refers to humankind as a whole, living for the future is a trend that one can see clearly in modern-day. In most cultures and communities, an emphasis is placed on education. Not education for the sake of knowledge or greater understanding, but for general success—money, a job, a family—in the future. As a result of this
The phrase, “always,” indicates the unchangeable nature of the statement, which is untrue. If one were to believe that they couldn't change the way they live their life to live in the present, then they would simply be stuck in a way of living that causes them unhappiness. People who became Buddhists later in life provide an example of the statement not being universal and being changeable. Zen Buddhism teaches the concept of living in the movement, also called mindfulness, that many followers of Buddhist philosophy already live