Question

"Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?" the boy asked the alchemist. "Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer." (p. 56). To pursue a dream requires suffering…How can we overcome this suffering in order to pursue our dreams? Do you leave that pursuing your dreams brings suffering? Explain why or why not. Also, does the amount of suffering our dreams/goals bring contribute anything to the overall feeling of success once/if we succeed?

Answer 1

We can only overcome this suffering by not suffering.

To succeed or not is not important.

Step-by-step explanation:

To follow your dreams implies a belief in a just world that ultimately, in this world or the next, will reward you. For most people the pursue of a dream is not worth the suffering because of the improbability that this dream will come true. When you´re a dreamer in a material world the only solution is to see the 'suffering' as non-existent or futile in respect to the 'realization' of your dream.

In a metaphysical way the materialization of your dreams is and should not be important, neither the suffering. The dream itself is the only important thing, whether it is realized or not. Suffering is very often just the deception of not realizing something.