A Spark by Innocent Mwatsikesimbe from Questions Asked, chapter 9

Darkness is supposed to swallow what it surrounds. Around a light, it does the opposite — it becomes the contrast that makes the light visible. That is what people’s discouragement turned out to be for Innocent: not the end of his dreams but the dark background they stood out against.

Many things and many people tried to kill what he wanted, and some came dangerously close. But the attacks did the opposite of their job: “in every attack, my dreams became more and more defined,” each one leaving them “clearer like when a surface is polished.” By the end of every attempt he knew more exactly what he wanted.

What follows is a quiet transfer of power. If opposition only sharpens a dream, then discouragement has no killing power of its own — people can merely say and do things, hoping to talk the owner into ending the dream themselves. Refuse that one act, and everything dark they bring becomes background.