In Paulo Coelho's book, The Alchemist, how does the crystal merchant's explanation for not taking the pilgrimage to Mecca make sense?

In 's
book, , the crystal merchant's explanation for not taking the pilgrimage to
Mecca makes sense to the boy.

The crystal merchant, who has hired the boy in
hopes of selling more crystal, describes what the Prophet teaches in the Koran.

The fifth obligation of every Muslim is a pilgrimage. We are
obliged, at least once in our lives, to visit the holy city of Mecca.

The merchant shares that he never went on the pilgrimage because he
could never trust his crystal in someone else's care. When the boy asks the merchant why he does
not go now, after thirty years of working, the merchant explains that the
idea of Mecca is what keeps him moving forward, that without the dream,
he'd have no reason for living. He also notes that if he went to Mecca, he might be
disappointed, so he just dreams about it instead.

As time goes by, and the
boy earns more money, he dreams of getting his sheep back. That has become
his new dream. The boy understands:

...because Egypt was now just as distant a dream for him as Mecca for the
merchant.

In essence, both the crystal merchant and the
boy have lost their hope and their faith in their dreams. It is because the boy has lost his
dream of ever reaching Egypt that the merchant's reasons for not traveling to Mecca make sense
to him.