Those of you who have been reading this blog on a daily basis, know that the past week has been tough. Last year, around this time, I lost my great canine friend Aslan to piroplasmosis, and this year, his brother Baghera (my mother’s dog), fell ill with the same disease. He has not fully recovered, and may not even make it, but he is hanging in there.

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Throughout all this time, which started last Thursday, Sheba my Rhodesian ridgeback has waited patiently for me to come home, without ever complaining of me being gone for so many hours. She has given me cuddles and kisses and just stayed by my side, being what dogs do the very best. Sheba was a gift from heaven after Aslan died, and during the eight months that we have spent together, she has given me endless amounts of joy and laughter. I could not have received a greater gift.

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Sometimes the days will be dark, despite a breathtakingly beautiful sky. That’s just how life goes. But amidst the darkness, there are moments of joy.

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I am learning that the key to living and to do what we feel gives meaning to this world, is to embrace it all. The good and bad, the laughter and the tears. The journey goes on a step at a time.

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Copyright Eden Foundation 2009

In Tanout (one of the least developed area in the world, situatied just south of the Sahara desert), the Eden population is waking up to a sky very different from mine. Thanks to the fruit-bearing trees and bushes now growing in their fields, they have nutrious food to eat and their children are healthy. They have valubale fruits to sell thanks to which they can support themselves and cover their own needs, without asking anyone for a handout. And most importantly, they have hope for the future. For the first time in their life, only the sky is their limit, and it’s a beautiful one.

And so when my sky is dark, or I can’t see it because of the darkness that towers over me, I look at theirs. Some things are worth fighting for. Some things are even worth dying for. Although the potential loss of my mother’s dog is a painful reminder of missing my mother so badly my heart breaks, I know fully well that had she relived her life, she would have chosen the same path all over again. She had no regrets. Not the good, nor the bad. Neither the laughter nor the tears.

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Copyright Eden Foundation 2009

A scene impossible to imagine twenty years ago: In the heart of Edenland, young Mariama and her mother inspect the latest batch of Eden fruit, which Mariama has harvested from the family’s Eden Garden and which she will sell at the market. With the money she earns, Mariama and her sisters buy food, household articles and clothes for themselves and the rest of the family. Mariama’s youngest brother lets his mother and sister know that he is waiting for a handful of what he considers to be the best candy in the world. Mariama laughs, for she never denies him Eden fruit.

For other sky contemplations around the world, visit Skywatch!