“To dream is to dare to believe that good awaits beyond what you now see…To face the unknown not in fear, but in expectancy that adventure lies ahead, and that just maybe, that adventure will surpass your dreams…”
An epic battle was raging in the seat next to me. Bad guys were dropping like flies as the Spiderman backpack emerged the victor. “I saw Superman catch a plane, “ he said, turning to me in a very serious tone. “Did you know he can lift a helicopter?” “Really?,” I replied. Without batting an eye, he continued, “Yes, and do you know WHY he can lift a helicopter?” I shook my head and waited for the answer. “Because he eats his vegetables! I’m going to lift helicopters too someday, because I eat all my vegetables.”
I stifled a chuckle as I mused over the sheer brilliance of whomever had taught him that vegetables = helicopter-lifting strength. The battle resumed and I smiled as I watched good triumph and superheroes save the day, and 4 year olds grow up to lift helicopters – all things that made complete sense and were absolute fact in the mind of my fellow traveler. And thus began my journey.
I landed that night weary from an epic battle myself. The previous year had begun as an exciting adventure and turned into a relentless nightmare – a nightmare in which heroes were scarce, the good guys just got beat up, and it felt like morning would never come. The pilot turned off the fasten seat belt sign and I left the plane laden down with far more than checked “baggage”.
I had touched down in the desert….
