just before the dawn

One of my favourite passages from The Alchemist comes at a point in the book when the boy and the alchemist have been riding through the desert for four long days, and have been speaking about the quest to realising your dreams:


"So what should I do now?" the boy asked.
"Continue in the direction of the Pyramids," said the alchemist. "And continue to pay heed to the omens. Your heart is still capable of showing you where your treasure is."
"Is that the one thing I still needed to know?"
"No," the alchemist answered. "What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realised, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realising our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. It's the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one 'dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.'
"Every search begins with beginners luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severly tested."
The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.


Dreams come every day, some are small and can be achieved in a few moments, some dreams last years, some a lifetime. The darkest hour could last a blink, or much longer, it's all proportional. Holding out for the dawn is what makes it worth while.