We are unable to continue our life’s journey in peace without accepting realistically and serenely the mystery of suffering, adversity, trial, misfortune and failure. They do not rob us of joy and health, but living in constant fear of them does.
“It’s not what happens, it’s how we deal with it that’s important”, so goes an old proverb.
And the only way to deal with what happens is to pass through it all solemnly, calmly, with humility and faith in ourselves and in God. We cannot always have a reasonable explanation for sufferings, misfortunes and failures, but by converting stumbling blocks into stepping stones, we can make the day’s adversity into times of opportunities. All it takes is the willingness to accept whatever happens and to learn lessons that would help us to sail forward with courage and hope.
Helen Keller, who became deaf and blind at the age of three, could say: “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming it.” Remember, life’s blows will only bring out what is in you. Don’t let difficulties deter you. They can help or hinder, enrich or engulf, depending on whether or not you are prepared for them.
The great Greek orator and philosopher, Aristotle has said, “The beauty of the soul shines when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.”

– J. Maurus