Over the last two years, I’ve taken a dozen or so flights to and from London, a place where the weather is often dreary. As the sun rarely graces London with its presence, my planes going home would often take off amidst a slight drizzle, the kind of weather where it might be 8 AM or 4 PM, and you couldn’t tell the difference. Grey skies, gloomy clouds — whatever atmospheric setting might work well for a good crime novel, basically.
It was only after many flights, though, that I realized something fascinating: A few minutes after takeoff, it was always sunny. As soon as the plane penetrated the cloud barrier, there she was. Shining as bright as ever, presenting the loveliest of days to anyone willing to make the journey.
Even then, it took a while until it hit me: The sun shines every day. Just because the people in London, or the Eifel, or any other place shrouded in clouds can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. The sun is up there, doing its thing — and so should we.
The sun has been shining for about 4.6 billion years. We only have to do it for 30,000 days. Can we get up every morning and spread an equally warm glow? I think we can. Every day when we wake up, we are given a choice: We can adapt to the fog around us and bring our mood in line with it, or we can remember the sun is up there, beaming as bright as ever, and decide to do the same thing.
When you have a mission, a vision, or a dream, don’t let anything knock you off course. Apply effort little by little, no matter how small your progress each day. The setbacks, detours, and challenges? Those are just grey clouds and drizzle — they may keep you from reaching your target for a while, but in the face of your brilliant radiance, they can never subsist for too long.
Be kind and persist. You’re the sun, after all — and above the clouds it’s always sunny.