A few weeks ago in the school holidays, my wife and I spent a few days in the Blue Mountains. Despite it being January there was some unusual cool and stormy weather. One morning as we went outside we noticed an unbelievable fog. A huge mist covered everything in sight and we could not see more than three metres ahead of us. 

Despite the lack of clear vision we decided to attempt a morning walk. As we began we noticed that although it constantly looked like we were walking into the thick fog we could always see about three metres ahead of us. We observed that the apparent, scary looking thick darkness actually had very little substance and was gradually disappearing, always leaving a few metres of clear vision ahead of us. A short while later the fog lifted completely and a stunning view of tall and majestic mountains and thousands of trees suddenly appeared.

Everything has a lesson.

The wise King Solomon calls our world 'G-d's garden'. We are His gardeners, working the landscape with meaning, purpose and spirituality revealing the world's true inner beauty. We have the responsibility of creating an environment of morality and values so that G-d can feel comfortable in His own garden. With effort and commitment to our mission we create an existence even more majestic and beautiful than before.

But sometimes the world turns dark. We face challenges and difficulties and it is impossible to see the hidden beauty and rich opportunities. We are confused, have lost direction and can't see the way ahead. The splendour has simply disappeared.

When that happens we should remember two important things:

a) The value of perseverance - we just have to take one small step at a time. We cannot give up. As soon as we take one small step we can suddenly see further ahead.

b) The fog is really just a thin mist with no substance. Behind the fog is a beautiful, majestic mountain. Behind every challenge is an opportunity - we just need patience, confidence and determination.

Don't give up, take that walk, embark on the journey and you will soon discover true beauty and splendour.

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