The Dream, The Desert, And The Return To Myself

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it… But it does so only if you really want it.” -The Alchemist

A reflection through the lens of The Alchemist

I’ve always been the kind of person who followed the signs.

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”

I used to think I knew exactly what mine was supposed to look like.

Years ago, a dream caught fire in my chest; to live and work in Australia, to become a traveler, to chase freedom and adventure and a love story that stretched across oceans.

Just like Santiago, the shepherd boy who followed the omens in The Alchemist, I followed the signs.

I crossed borders. I met the right people at the right time. I fell in love. I believed — truly — that I was walking straight toward my Personal Legend.

But what no one really prepares you for… is when the dream starts to shift or when you do.

Because even when you’re living the thing you once prayed for, there can be a quiet ache. A subtle shift. A knowing that something no longer fits even if it once saved you.

I held on longer than I should have. Not because I didn’t see the signs, but because I was afraid.

Afraid that changing direction would look like quitting even when my soul knew better.

But The Alchemist taught me something else, too:

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

And maybe that’s what this was, not a detour, but a doorway into a more honest version of myself.

Maybe I had to go all the way to the other side of the world just to return to myself.

I thought the treasure would be the life I built somewhere else, the dream realized.

But the real treasure?

Was never a place.

It was the woman I became in the process.

The me who could trust herself again.

The me who could say this no longer fits and walk away with grace.

The me who learned how to listen, really listen to the quiet voice underneath it all.

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

That dream took me exactly where I needed to go.

It cracked me open.

It brought me love, lessons, and a thousand versions of myself I never would’ve met otherwise.

And then, it asked me to let it go.

But here’s the beautiful part:

There is always another dream.

The journey never really ends.

There is always more desert to cross, more omens to follow, more truth to uncover.

The point was never the destination.

It was learning how to walk with wonder.

Learning when to keep going.

And when to return home — not in defeat, but in devotion.

So here I am.

A little dustier. A little wiser.

No longer chasing the dream I started with but still walking toward something honest.

And this time, I’m not searching for treasure.

I’m carrying it.