Last Friday, 20/20 did a show on forgiveness.  One of the segments featured a man who have been wrongly convicted of a murdering someone.  He spent 19 years in prison and was finally released because the real murderer came forward and confessed to the crime.  The man in prison said that the only way he was able to make it through prison during those 19 years was because he chose to forgive.  He forgave the prosecutor who prosecuted him for a crime he did not commit.  He even helped the prosecutor campaign for reelection after he was released from prison. 

He said that he had a choice to forgive or remain filled with hate.  He could either choose to believe that he was a victim while he was in prison or he could choose to forgive and free himself from his anger.  He chose to forgive. 

This takes incredible courage and strength to forgive something like this.  But this type of forgiveness really is not for the person who did the wrong.  It is for the person who chooses to forgive.  Forgiveness like this simply means to let go of a resentment.  The results are both practical and profound because in that moment of letting go of a resentment a person begins to heal themself on a conscious and unconscious level.

  Paulo Coelho’s book The Alchemist is going to be adapted into a movie.  Harvey Weinstein will be the producer and Laurence Fishburne is attached to star and direct.  Shooting starts a year from now. 

The Alchemist is an inspirational fable about a Spanish shepherd, Santiago, who sets out on a quixotic quest to find a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids.  Along the way he learns various spiritual lessons.  The lessons he learns include the importance of paying attention to the signs in our life and that it is our responsibility to follow our dreams because that is how we become in integrity with our soul. The most famous line in the book is:

“When you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 

 The book has sold more than 30 million copies and is currently number seven on the New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction.  Coelho has been hesitant to adapt his book into a movie because the producers who have approached him have attempted to add violent war scenes to his book that have nothing to do with its message or plot.  However, Coelho agreed to allow Harvey Weinstein adapt his book because Weinstein will stay true to Coelho’s messages about simplicity and spirituality.

Three of the top five book on the May 3 New York Times Bestseller list all ask very spiritual questions such as why are we here, how do I live the life I deserve to live, and what actions can I take make the most of my life. 

Number one on the list is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow.  This book is written by a man who has terminal cancer and explains how he is making the most of his time left to live.  Number three is The Secret, the book written by Rhonda Byrne based on the hit movie, The Secret, which shows us that we are responsible for creating the experiences in our lives.  Number five is Harmonic Wealth by James Arthur Ray with Linda Siversten.  James Ray is a star of The Secret and his new book talks about how to achieve harmonic wealth (which he distinguishes from just money) in our physical health, intellectual life, relationships, career and spiritual life.

This list shows that people are really searching for meaning, purpose and joy in all aspects of their life.  All of these books go beyond the material definations of success such as making a lot of money.  They ask us what is really important to us and inspire us to take responsiblity for living a life that is consistent with what we really value in our life.