'...is the one just before the sunrise.' ('The Alchemist' - Paulo Coelho)
This is a quote that's stuck with me since I first read The Alchemist, more than 10 years ago, and never left me. And everytime I find myself in the dark, not knowing which way to go and who to turn to, feeling my way around with trembling hands and a painful ball of fear in my stomach, I remind myself about this quote: that it's only the darkest hour before sunrise.
And then I remind myself that I've been in the dark before, many times in fact. And the sunrise always came. Stronger and brigther than before. There's necessity in darkness, it makes the light stronger.
I think my gremlin, my depression, has now faded away, it has finally left me and I am picking myself up again: doing the things I love, surrounding myself with people, feeling charged with energy. But I'm trying to take it slowly because I've learnt my lesson: sometimes things just take time, the night still has to come and last for a while, before the sunrise can take place.
I don't hate my depression, I think it had its purpose, it needed to happen, it was the night before my sunrise. It allowed me to think deeper about things and in the end to make the choice to be strong and continue searching for my dreams. But apart from teaching me to give it time, it also taught me that I don't have to do everything myself, that things are meant to come my way too, all I really need to do is to be alert and recognise them for being part of my life.
I remember a story I read when I was little. It was a collection of Chinese tales and I'm rather sorry I don't have that book anymore because the tales were probably quite magical, though as I child I must have missed most of the meaning. I do remember this one in particular though, mainly because I thought it was ridiculous. Without recalling a lot of details, the story went something like that: a young poor farmer found a straw stuck to his shirt. He tried to get rid of it but he couldn't, it obstinately stuck to his shirt. Then he decided he might as well make use of it and caught a fly and tied it by a string to his straw (this is why I thought it was silly, like who does this and why??), which was now stuck to his shirt. He met a merchant who offered him 3 oranges in return for the fly he had tied to his straw. They exchanged items and then the young man encountered the carriage of a princess who was dying of thirst. The poor young farmer offered her the three oranges and, grateful, the princess decided to marry him.
Ok, I know it's not a tale that makes much sense, after all, why would you catch a fly and tie it to your shirt, why would anyone want to buy the fly off you and since when oranges rehydrate that well? Anyway, suppose that's besides the point. The moral of this story is that nothing is simply random. Things and people come into our lives with a purpose, we just have to follow their lead and eventually the road will take us somewhere good. I already knew that but we people do get distracted and sometimes need a reminder. I think my depression was my reminder and, boy, how many things did I remember?... Like for example that...
This is a quote that's stuck with me since I first read The Alchemist, more than 10 years ago, and never left me. And everytime I find myself in the dark, not knowing which way to go and who to turn to, feeling my way around with trembling hands and a painful ball of fear in my stomach, I remind myself about this quote: that it's only the darkest hour before sunrise.
And then I remind myself that I've been in the dark before, many times in fact. And the sunrise always came. Stronger and brigther than before. There's necessity in darkness, it makes the light stronger.
I think my gremlin, my depression, has now faded away, it has finally left me and I am picking myself up again: doing the things I love, surrounding myself with people, feeling charged with energy. But I'm trying to take it slowly because I've learnt my lesson: sometimes things just take time, the night still has to come and last for a while, before the sunrise can take place.
I don't hate my depression, I think it had its purpose, it needed to happen, it was the night before my sunrise. It allowed me to think deeper about things and in the end to make the choice to be strong and continue searching for my dreams. But apart from teaching me to give it time, it also taught me that I don't have to do everything myself, that things are meant to come my way too, all I really need to do is to be alert and recognise them for being part of my life.
I remember a story I read when I was little. It was a collection of Chinese tales and I'm rather sorry I don't have that book anymore because the tales were probably quite magical, though as I child I must have missed most of the meaning. I do remember this one in particular though, mainly because I thought it was ridiculous. Without recalling a lot of details, the story went something like that: a young poor farmer found a straw stuck to his shirt. He tried to get rid of it but he couldn't, it obstinately stuck to his shirt. Then he decided he might as well make use of it and caught a fly and tied it by a string to his straw (this is why I thought it was silly, like who does this and why??), which was now stuck to his shirt. He met a merchant who offered him 3 oranges in return for the fly he had tied to his straw. They exchanged items and then the young man encountered the carriage of a princess who was dying of thirst. The poor young farmer offered her the three oranges and, grateful, the princess decided to marry him.
Ok, I know it's not a tale that makes much sense, after all, why would you catch a fly and tie it to your shirt, why would anyone want to buy the fly off you and since when oranges rehydrate that well? Anyway, suppose that's besides the point. The moral of this story is that nothing is simply random. Things and people come into our lives with a purpose, we just have to follow their lead and eventually the road will take us somewhere good. I already knew that but we people do get distracted and sometimes need a reminder. I think my depression was my reminder and, boy, how many things did I remember?... Like for example that...
'Everyone on earth has a treasure that awaits him.'
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)
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