Looking for My Stars

Last night I went to see Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea, speak. It's the inspirational story of a failed attempt to climb K2 that turned an avid mountclimber into an activist who builds schools, primarily for girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Hearing someone else's inspirational story helps you not get too caught up in your own bullshit. But it was impossible to avoid my own bullshit entirely. And one moment brought me to selfish tears. It was the words of a Persian proverb, printed in simple block letters, blazing across a screen that had been filled with the breathtaking grandeur of K2; the touching images of young girls sitting outside in the dirt with slates in hand, staring avidly at their teacher, soaking up knowledge; the photo of young boys going to school in an old shipping container, cheerful and hopeful. And for me, for my own pain and loss, two small lines:

When it is dark enough
You can see the stars.

I'll keep looking for them. I don't see them yet, but I know they're out there.