As part of the pre-work for the Unstoppable course that starts on January 11, I had to read two books - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. After reading both of these, I feel like I’ve been given two stories that are similar to Yin and Yang.

 

Yin is the black, and Yang is the white. To me, Man’s Search for Meaning is the yin and The Alchemist is the yang.

Man’s Search for Meaning as Yin

Viktor Frankl’s tales from the concentration camps and overall concepts are dark, much like the yin. As the yin symbol shows, there’s a circle of light within it. The light in Viktor Frankl’s story is the lesson of being in the most dire of situations and still being able to survive, as the last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances. How we choose to handle a situation will in turn determine our path, our way.

A few other things I noticed in this book and in Frankl’s studies in logotherapy (existentialism) were:

  • The ability to acknowledge the mind (psyche), body (soma), and spirit (noos) as separate entities
  • The three ways to discover meaning are:
    • By creating a work or doing a deed
    • By experiencing something or encountering someone
    • By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering
  • Humor can be used to rise above a situation, even if it’s just for a short period of time.

There’s also a story where he recalls dealing with a lady who knew her days were limited and her fate was sealed. She had been talking to a tree that told her that it’s eternal life. I found this to be interesting, as there’s a symbol across multiple disciplines called the tree of life, which alludes to the connection of all life on the planet and can be seen as a symbol of eternal life.

 

Art from: TheeIceFaerie on DeviantArt

I have always been intrigued by the tree of life, with my Celtic background. The tree represents balance and harmony, wisdom, strength, long life, and a connection to the spirit world. If you see me about, you’ll recognize this symbol, as I sometimes wear a tree pendant, a nod to my Celtic heritage and my fondness of this symbol.

The overall tone of Man’s Search for Meaning is dark and yet insightful. It shows that there are ways to discover meaning, even in the darkest moments of life. This is why I liken this book to Yin.

The Alchemist as Yang

Paulo Coelho’s tale of the alchemist is a parable of one’s quest for their Personal Legend, their spiritual meaning in life. For me, the writing was easy for me to follow, and there were lots of memorable quotes. Some of my favorites include:

  • When you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
  • Follow the omens.
  • Dreams are the language of God.
  • The world’s greatest lie is … at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate!
  • Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

There is a point where the idea is planted of either being a victim to a thief or an adventurer on his quest for his Personal Legend. This somewhat parallels Frankl’s idea of getting through such a dark situation. It’s all how you choose to handle the situation. That helps set the tone of where things go.

There’s also the concept that the world has a universal language, not driven by words. As noted “… the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.” Reading this line triggered one of my favorite quotes from the musical Moulin Rouge -

The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

The Alchemist was a tale of a shepherd on his quest for his Personal Legend. Through a storied journey, he found what he needed. This page-turner is truly the yang of the “meaning in life” pre-work books that I was assigned for the Unstoppable course.

Like yang, The Alchemist is mostly bright, with a dark spot in the story being the wars or possibly even the encounter with nature. (You’ll have to read the story to understand that - as much as I want to say more, I don’t want to ruin the story for others. However, I highly recommend this book for those who want to understand their personal quests in life.)