I have a small theory. Are there small theories and big theories?

 Either way, I have one.

It has to do with your Personal Legend. 

If you’ve read The Alchemist, you’re familiar with this term. A Personal Legend is that one thing in the universe that only you can do. It’s not destiny, because plenty of Personal Legends are not realized. It’s what results when one decides to take his destiny into his own hands, because he knows that’s the only way to realize it. Think Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings. 

Frodo knew there wasn’t anyone else in Middle Earth who could complete the task of destroying the one Ring. His comrades knew it too, and ultimately, all they could do was help make the way for Frodo to do what he had to, to save them all. 

Frodo knew something even more powerful than that no one else could do his task for him. 

He knew if he didn’t complete his task, he along with all his friends would die. 

This same comparison could be drawn with Harry Potter (can you tell what a nerd I am yet?) or with  Lyra’s mission in His Dark Materials (my favorite fantasy novel series). 

We won’t die if we don’t pursue our Personal Legend. But we will wilt slowly with each day, week, month, year we let pass without seeking it and hunting it down with our fiercest passion.

The suffering produced by not following your Legend from a few quotations from the book :

“Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives”

“We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible.”

“Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him,” his heart said. “We, people’s hearts, seldom say much about those treasures, because people no longer want to go in search of them. We speak of them only to children. Later, we simply let life proceed, in its own direction, toward its own fate. But, unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them – the path to their Personal Legends, and to happiness. 

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place. “So, we, their hearts, speak more and more softly. We never stop speaking out, but we begin to hope that our words won’t be heard: we don’t want people to suffer because they don’t follow their hearts.” “why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams?” the boy asked the alchemist. “Because that’s what makes the heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer.” 

From then on, the boy understood his heart. He asked it, please, never stop speaking to him. He asked that, when he wandered far from his dreams, his heart press him and sound the alarm. The boy swore that, every time he heard the alarm, he would heed its message. 

In Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (significant because they are very clearly centered around this concept of Personal Legend, and are also two of the top grossing books and films of all time - there must be something here), there was a distinct point at which each of the characters settled into their Legend. For Frodo, it was after Gandalf died. For Harry, it’s somewhere between the fourth and fifth books, after Cedric dies and Harry has seen what he is up against, and almost died from it.  

We won’t be able to continue in the pursuit of our Legends until we begin to see the consequences of what will happen if we don’t … To us and those in our lives.  In reality, it must become the hugest thing in our world.  This is settling in. 

“He still had some doubts about the decision he had made. But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really driving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision” 

Everything else fades to grey. Sometimes we get so invested in finding our Legends that it seems like a nuisance to deal with the normal things in life.  But do not forget normal life is a part of the Legend. Every day between the day you make the decision to pursue your dream, and the day you achieve it is a piece of the whole. Our Legend cannot manifest without each one of those days. In this way, we see each day as a gift, each day as sacred.  

“The sheep had taught him something even more important: that there was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.”

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.”

“When I have been truly searching for my treasure, every day has been luminous, because I’ve known that every hour was a part of the dream that I would find it. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” So his heart was quiet for an entire afternoon.”

It will be hard. It will take time, but you will begin to find a flow to the work that leads you to your Legend. 

Now that we have talked about what a Personal Legend is, I can tell you my theory. 

It probably seems obvious to you by now. 

Your art - your innate talent, skill, craft. Or deeper, what inspires your art - passion, enthusiasm, wonder. THAT is your Legend. 

Or better stated, it is a window, a turnkey if you will, to your Legend.

The paintings you create are not necessarily your Legend. This piece is not my Legend. It is a piece of it - it is what I build my Legend on. 

“One’s Personal Legend is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. “At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend….whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth” 

Have you ever sensed your legend ? Maybe you’re like me and you’ve felt it for years but you don’t know what it’s TELLING YOU - you know something has to change, that there’s something bigger you need to be tapping into, but you’re not sure what it is … 

Or maybe you are … ?

I’d like to know. Would you be willing to share your experience with me in the comments below?

(Source: aslegend)