THE ARCHER Meet Tetsuya, a middle-aged calm & poised man the promise you made, never to reveal the with the gift of a bow and an arrow. Tetsuya is the name of the village where I live. If anyone asks leading man of Paulo Coelho’s recent spiritually you about me, say that you went to the ends uplifting philosophical novel, The Archer (2020). of the earth trying to find me and eventually learned that I had been bitten by a snake and The main character of the novel who was once died two days later.” known for his flabbergasting talent with the bow and arrow, however, retires from public life. So This passage from the book reveals Tetsuya’s begins a completely different life of anonymous present state of mind, present character. He no existence as a carpenter in a faraway village longer wishes to be known for his skills with the vaguely resembling someplace in Japan. bow, but just as a carpenter whose dream was to Working as a carpenter, Tetsuya somehow hides work with the wood. his authentic self from the world around him, like Tetsuya had always been a man of dignity and he doesn’t want to be seen, doesn’t want to be posture; he wouldn’t disobey the art he skilled. As known for the man he once was. the stranger was introduced to what he was look- ing for, he left thereafter, while Tetsuya explained He appears to be a simple man, with a simple the way of life; the way of the bow to the local boy, style of living. A man with dignity, skill, and pos- and as he did, his voice rings younger. ture yet not an ounce of pride in his eyes. He is quite unusual, the kind we rarely get a chance to Tetsuya reveals how the way of the bow serves for see. everything. The one who follows the way needs not a bow or an arrow or a target, which is why Tetsuya continues with his anonymous life sur- he followed his dream of working with the wood, prisingly well, when a stranger’s arrival to the vil- choosing to be a carpenter instead. Tetsuya was lage flushes out Tetsuya’s long-lost or perhaps a true archer, who followed the way because the repressed feelings. The man with the gift of a bow thing you are best at may not always be the thing and an arrow is no longer as poised as he was. you love. The latter is what fulfills the connection It is now that a stranger comes looking for his between our actions and our soul. sensei; the master archer. The stranger convinc- To be like Tetsuya is to develop the courage to es the local boy to take him to a man with the take risks, accept your true self, and follow the same name. Only this one was known for his car- way with a purpose. Tetsuya even though was pentry skills instead. The stranger came to chal- best with the bow and an arrow, but his true self lenge Tetsuya to prove he is more skilled than the lay within his love for the wood. He was a man best archer known. who had the courage to take risks and embrace the journey he was taking because he believed “I will do as you ask, but you will have to keep that was the life worth living.