The Alchemist

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

My friend Amy reminded me of a series of truly inspirational quotes from the Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, and I thought I would reference another one.

This quote has so many interesting things to think about. First, the idea that the fear of something is worse than actually experiencing what it is we are afraid of. How often do I spend time thinking, What if I fail? What if I am making the wrong decision? What if my future doesn't work out the way I hope it does? This has been a scary year in that sense. So many decisions, and so much fear trying to prevent me from making the difficult choices. I have to keep reminding myself that conquering that fear is the hardest part of making any decision.

Then there is the idea that the time spent in search of one's dreams is an encounter with God and with eternity. How beautiful. When we are pursuing our highest ideals, we are doing God's will for us. God confronts us with challenges that are seemingly insurmountable, and we are overwhelmed by the obstacles. But at the same time, there is always that nagging voice inside us that urges us on... Go for it. You can do it. A voice propelling you toward the seemingly impossible. When we make those difficult decisions... when we take that final step off the edge into the unknown, it is then when we are encountering God. We are trusting him to carry us beyond that edge, and to be the one comforting known in a world of uncertainty.