Darkest before the dawn

View from my plane as the sun rose over Zimbabwe, with the wing in the foreground. My first real glimpse of Africa.

A very wise friend reminded me today that it is Winter Solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year. This morning this feels very appropriate. Even though the husband and I have spent the past months working our butts off towards something very exciting, there's a certain sadness that comes with it. 2009 has truly been a craptastic year. In light of the fact that the days are about to get longer and the sun is going to shine a whole lot brighter, I'm going to just let Paulo Coelho do the talking for me:

"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.”

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows only their own pain and renunciation."

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”

“But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for.”

“You start living for the obsession alone ... You want to arrive somewhere regardless of whether you're enjoying the road or not.”

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

I heart Paulo Coelho. If you haven't read his books yet, start with The Alchemist, move on to The Zahir, and work your way from there as your heart desires. Beautiful, lyrical novels that will speak to your soul (if you'll let them). I'm always amazed at Coelho's ability to sum up complex emotion in just a line or two of simple words.

And with that, I welcome the onset of the winter solstice and look forward to a brighter year to come. God knows that this is not where I expected to be now, but from here we can only push forward and stay focused on the amazing things on the other side of our struggles. I plan to hold on tight to my loved ones and make life happen with them by my side.