Adversity
The
earth is sliced into furrows that seeds may burst with life; even thus with our
wounds. ~Henry Stanley Haskins, "The Eternal Balance," Meditations in
Wall Street, 1940
The
only thing that's the end of the world is the end of the world. ~President
Barack Obama, farewell press conference, 2017 January 18th
I
shall come, not as one who has escaped pain, but as one who has glorified it.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "Songs of Longing: XXII," At the Roots of
Grasses, 1923
If
you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire—then
you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life
is lumpy. Learn to separate the inconveniences from the real problems. You will
live longer. ~Sigmund Wollman, quoted by Robert Fulghum, Uh-Oh, 1991
For
thirty years now, in times of stress and strain, when something has me backed
against the wall and I'm ready to do something really stupid with my anger, a
sorrowful face appears in my mind and asks... "Problem or
inconvenience?" I think of this as the Wollman Test of Reality. Life is
lumpy. And a lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat, and a lump in the
breast are not the same lump. One should learn the difference. ~Robert Fulghum,
Uh-Oh
Many
things are hard... Life comes at you in pieces sometimes too big to avoid.
~Simon Van Booy, The Illusion of Separateness, 2013
Child,
when hard luck fall it just keep fallin'. ~Alice Childress, Wine in the
Wilderness, 1969 [Oldtimer –tg]
We
have no right to ask when sorrow comes, "Why did this happen to me?"
unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our
way. ~Author unknown
You
peer into my life to find a lingering past, but I tell you it was sunk ten
thousand fathoms deep and weighted down with my dead self. You look into my
breast to find that old, old open wound, but I tell you I seared it with my hot
tears and only the cicatrix is there. You look into my eyes to read that
oft-told story of defeat, but I tell you that the plot was changed and you will
see the flag of conquest waving from the turrets of my soul. ~Muriel Strode
(1875–1964), My Little Book of Prayer, 1904
A
bend in the road is not the end of the road — unless you fail to make the turn.
~Author unknown, c. 1990s
The
robb'd that smiles steals something from the thief... ~William Shakespeare,
Othello, c.1604 [I, 3, Duke of Venice]
Earth's
tribulations diminish in proportion to the elevation of our souls. ~James
Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882
I'm
sorry to say so
but,
sadly, it's true
that
Bang-ups
and
Hang-ups
can
happen to you.
~Dr.
Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, 1990
Don’t
let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life. ~Author unknown
And
then again in the very effort to do anything, however small, one is hampered by
circumstances at every step till we are inclined to throw up the fight in
despair... "Circumstances" spur as much as they hinder us; it is in
the struggle day by day with them that we gain muscle for the real life
fight... ~John Richard Green, letter to Louise von Glehn, 1870
The
best thing I know in favor of TIGHT SHOES is that it makes a fellow forget all
of his other troubles. ~Josh Billings, revised by H. Montague
Pain
is the great teacher of mankind. Beneath its breath souls develop. ~Marie
Dubsky, Freifrau von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916), translated by Mrs Annis Lee
Wister, 1882
Bad
is never good until worse happens. ~Danish proverb
So,
boys and girls, you must learn to rough it a little. Don't be a china doll,
going to smash at every hard knock. If you get hard blows take them cheerily
and as easily as you can. Even if some blow comes when you least expect it, and
knocks you off your feet for a minute, don't let it floor you long.... keep
right on in a happy, companionable, courageous, helpful spirit, and let the
world know that you don't break easily. ~Silas X. Floyd (1869–1923), "The
Strenuous Life," Floyd's Flowers: or, Duty and Beauty for Colored
Children, 1905
It
just wouldn't be a picnic without the ants. ~Author unknown
Life
may take everything out of my days, but the real things remain. You may destroy
my castles, but I have the timbers to build ten thousand more. ~Muriel Strode
(1875–1964), "A Soul's Faring: LXXXIII," A Soul's Faring, 1921
If,
when most desperate, we examine our misery, we find it but a drop spattered
from seas of trouble. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Seven Seventy Seven
Sensations, 1897
Sometimes
in tragedy we find our life's purpose — the eye sheds a tear to find its focus.
~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Not
alone for that which is mine will I rejoice, but for that which has been
withheld, which was coveted and longed for, but denied, for I am what I am for
having had to rise superior to the need. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My Little
Book of Prayer, 1904
We
carry our burden on and on, until one day, suddenly, we laugh and set it down
upon the ground. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My Little Book of Life, 1912
The
problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back. ~Author unknown
Adversity
introduces a man to himself. ~Author unknown
The
smoothest path is no guarantee against a broken neck. ~James Lendall Basford
(1845–1915), Seven Seventy Seven Sensations, 1897
The
difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter. ~George
Gritter, 1950s
Suffering
is above, not below. And everyone thinks that suffering is below. And everyone
wants to rise. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S.
Merwin
Linger
not in your sorrows. You do not belong there. ~Dodinsky
The
Lord gives us friends to push us to our potential — and enemies to push us
beyond it. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
...the
beauty of the world which is so soon to perish, has two edges, one of laughter,
one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder. ~Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's
Own, 1929
There's
a curious thing about pain or hardship. In the beginning, it's an enemy, it's
something that you don't want to face or think about or deal with. Yet with
time it becomes almost a friend. If you've lost someone you love very much, in
the beginning you can't bear it, but as the years go by, the pain of losing
them is what reminds you so vividly of them — that they were alive. ~Audrey
Hepburn, 1990
Fortune
knocks but once at any man's door, but misfortune has much more patience.
~20,000 Quips & Quotes, Evan Esar, 1968
Adversity
and failure are woven into the fabric of existence; without them, there can be
neither test of mettle nor triumph of success. ~Dr. Idel Dreimer,
lumpenbangenpiano.com
Difficulties
were opportunities inside out, she assured herself... ~Gwen Davis, Marriage,
1981
Don't
mind a few bruises. Life's paths are full of stones and thorns. All are bound
to hurt a little. ~Minna Thomas Antrim (1861–1950), Don'ts for Girls, 1902
But
you know my motto — problems are only opportunities with thorns on them. ~Hugh
Miller, Snow on the Wind, 1987
Thorns
and stings
And
those such things
Just
make stronger
Our
angel wings.
~Terri
Guillemets, "Pierced flight," 2003
Half
the annoyances of life will disappear if one is only patient under them. Almost
all the other half will go the same way if one does not worry over them. ~Frank
A. De Puy, "Happiness in the Home: Be Patient," The New Century Home
Book, 1900
Sometimes
I think my life would make a great TV movie. It even has the part where they
say, "Stand by. We are experiencing temporary difficulties." ~Robert
Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Life
may break my body and my days — and my soul may laugh at her impotency.
She
may destroy me, and I may go laughing over the hills. A few hours mutilated,
and eternity lies in the residuum.
She
may mar the realities, but what of my dreams!
~Muriel
Strode (1875–1964), "Songs of Longing: V," At the Roots of Grasses,
1923
Yes,
one must suffer, even in vain, so as not to have lived in vain. ~Antonio
Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
When
in sickness, age, or sorrow,
Through
great shadows we must move,
Of
all earthly lights the dearest
Shines
from hearts of those we love.
~James
Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882
Despair
is anger with no place to go. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
Every
flower must grow through dirt. ~Proverb
Life
is hard to bear. But do not pretend to be so frail! We are all good he-asses
and she-asses of burden. ~Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), "Of Reading and
Writing," Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None, translated from
the German by Alexander Tille, 1896
Again
and again we cry "I can bear no more!" — that is the human of us. And
again and again we bear more, — that is the god of us. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964),
"A Soul's Faring: LXI," A Soul's Faring, 1921
It's
because so much happens. Too much happens. That's it. Man performs, engenders,
so much more than he can or should have to bear. That's how he finds that he
can bear anything. That's it. That's what is so terrible. That he can bear
anything, anything. ~William Faulkner
When
I see a man who, bravely,
Meets realities in life,
Who carries on, courageously,
In the face of grief and strife;
Then,
I bow my head in honour
Of this man, with courage rare,
Who has such strength of character,
Who, bravely, his burdens bears!
~Gertrude
Tooley Buckingham (1880–1971), "Courage"
God
gave burdens, also shoulders. ~Yiddish proverb
I
ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. ~Jewish proverb
This
we know:
We
were
not
meant
to
suffer
so
much
&
to learn
nothing.
~Alice
Walker, from "The Taste of Grudge," Hard Times Require Furious
Dancing, 2010
The
human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. ~Captain C. C.
Scott, as quoted in Forbes, 1932
I
guess if you take away the pain in life it means having no beauty to hope for.
~Daniel, @blindedpoet
Adversity
has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have
lain dormant. ~Horace
There
is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in
the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in
the dark hour of adversity. No man knows what the wife of his bosom is — no man
knows what a ministering angel she is — until he has gone with her through the
fiery trials of this world. ~Washington Irving, The Sketch Book of Geoffrey
Crayon, Gent., 1820
Blessings
will only come from uncomfortable states. ~Rev. Jacob A. Brooks, New Life
Ministry of Silsbee
People
are resilient. After all, every person born has recovered from nine months on
life support. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
But
while to propose to be a better man is a piece of unscientific cant, to have
become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered. And such I
think I have become. ~Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1905
I
am the strength that was born of my weakness. I am the steadfastness that came
out of my wavering. I am the joy of living that was born of my despair. I am
the poise that was born of my great unrest. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My
Little Book of Life, 1912
A
new wound makes all the old ones ache again. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's
Notebook, 1960
When
life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand
reasons to smile. ~Author unknown
Don't
be an easy-doing child, do hard things too. Remember a blacksmith never got a
big muscle by hammering an inch nail, but by swinging a heavy hammer while
beating out an iron bar. Sometimes we must run hard roads, through briers, over
sharp stones, and any which way. ~Sunday School Helper, 1897 [a little altered —tg]
It
is the hard things that make men. It is hard things that bring mental
discipline and mental muscle. It is what brings out manhood, to really conquer
something. ~Proceedings of the Dedication of the New Buildings of the Central
High School, Philadelphia, 1902 [a
little altered —tg]
When
life gives you lemons, please, just don't squirt them in other people's eyes.
~J. Andrew Helt
I
think it's good to get knocked around a little bit sometimes. I think it's good
to rise from the fire... It's a good opportunity to rejuvenate your motivation,
to see that hill and go climb it. ~k.d. lang, 1997
The
turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of
strength within you that survives all hurt. ~Max Lerner, 1957
Each
negative experience hardens us a little more to life. Some of us are tough as
concrete — but we are the happiest who are cracked, so that flowers can still
grow through. ~Terri Guillemets
Don't
trouble trouble 'til trouble troubles you. ~African-American proverb
There
are sufferings that have lost their memory and do not remember why they are
suffering. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S.
Merwin
Had
life been more abundant, I could not know the deep craving that comes from the
sparsity of it. Had it been more verdant, I could not know the desert's pain.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My Little Book of Life, 1912
Sooner
or later, you will need to make friends with Disappointment. ~Dr. SunWolf,
@WordWhispers, tweet, 2016, professorsunwolf.com
It
went in a Sorrow, but through the alchemy of Self, it came out a Song. ~Muriel
Strode (1875–1964), My Little Book of Life, 1912
I
remembered Tucker telling me that luck was no lady; luck was a mean drunk who
didn't know when to stop punching. ~Abby Geni, The Wildlands, 2018
Invite
your melancholy outside for a walk. Or read it a poem. Or bake it chocolate
chip cookies. ~Dr. SunWolf, professorsunwolf.com
Break
bread with your darkness. Put down the stone in your fist. Write a poem on it,
instead. ~Dr. SunWolf, professorsunwolf.com
Lost
dreams may help you find new dreams. ~J Charles White, @connect1492, January
2013 winner of The Quote Garden create your own quote contest on Twitter,
@quotegarden
Don't
allow your wounds to turn you into a person you are not. ~Author unknown
If
the thunder is not loud, the peasant forgets to cross himself. ~Russian proverb
There
is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands. You seek
problems because you need their gifts. ~Richard Bach, Illusions: The Adventures
of a Reluctant Messiah, 1977
If
we don't face and overcome unsettling events in life, we are ruled by them.
~Bones, "The Babe in the Bar," original airdate 2010 November 18th,
spoken by the character Dr. Sweets, writing credits K.Rosenthal, H.Hanson,
K.Reichs, D.Lopata, and M.Peterson
Pain
is sometimes the cost of a meaningful existence. I can handle that. ~Jeb
Dickerson, @JebDickerson
At
times, challenges hit with the force of a roaring, rushing waterfall. The true
test, however, is whether you can put your arms up and enjoy the feel of the
water. ~Aviva Kaufman
Us
to teach that love and grace
In
darkest days may blossom,
And
that a tender bloom of hope
May
shine in sorrow's bosom.
~J.J.
Britton (1832–1913), "A White Hyacinth"
The
frost which kills the harvest of a year, saves the harvests of a century, by
destroying the weevil or the locust. Wars, fires, plagues, break up immovable
routine... There is a tendency in things to right themselves... The sharpest
evils are bent into that periodicity which makes the errors of planets, and the
fevers and distempers of men, self-limiting. Nature is upheld by antagonism.
Passions, resistance, danger, are educators. We acquire the strength we have
overcome. Without war, no soldier; without enemies, no hero... All the glory of
character is in affronting the horrors of depravity, to draw thence new
nobilities of power... ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Considerations By the
Way," The Conduct of Life, 1860
The
rays of happiness, like those of light, are colorless when unbroken. ~Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, Kavanagh, 1849
God
uses suffering as a whetstone, to make men sharp with. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The
fact that life is a grind is what sharpens many a man's wits. ~Boston
Transcript, 1923
We
must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. ~Miyazawa Kenji,
unverified
We
shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and
survival. ~Winston Churchill
Who
said a dilemma had only two horns? He must have been fooling around with little
dilemmas before they were of age. A real dilemma has between eight and ten
pairs of horns and can kill you as far as you can see it and vice versa.
~Ernest Hemingway, as quoted in A. E. Hotchner, The Good Life According To
Hemingway, 2008
ADVERSITY A bottomless lake, surrounded by near-sighted
friends. ~Charles Wayland Towne, The Foolish Dictionary, Executed by Gideon
Wurdz, Master of Pholly, Doctor of Loquacious Lunacy, etc., 1904
Perhaps
this was rock bottom. But then, she had thought that before, and there was
always a little farther to fall. ~Abby Geni, The Wildlands, 2018
Things
are tough all over
But
I've got good news
When
you get down to nothin'
You've
got nothin' to lose
Anyway,
rock bottom
Is
good solid ground
And
a dead-end street
Is
just a place to turn around
~J.
R. Cobb & Buddy Buie, "Rock Bottom," performed by Wynonna Judd,
1994 ♫
The
bitterest things are sweets misunderstood... ~Mark Van Doren, "The
Bitterest Things," 1948
[L]ook
evil in the face; walk up to it, and you will find it less than you imagined,
and often you will not find it at all; for it will recede as you advance.
~Sydney Smith, "A Little Moral Advice: A Fragment on the Cultivation and
Improvement of the Animal Spirits"
Sometimes
when Fortune scowls most spitefully, she is preparing her most dazzling gifts.
~Winston Churchill, 1931
Men
have made them gods of love,
Sun-gods, givers of the rain,
Deities of hill and grove:
I have made a god of Pain.
Of
my god I know this much,
And singing I repeat,
Though there's anguish in his touch,
Yet his soul within is sweet.
~Æ
(George William Russell), "Pain," Homeward Songs by the Way, 1894
We
won't break, Mary. We look very small, but the reed can carry weight. ~Emily
Dickinson, 1862
And
when things start to happen,
don't
worry. Don't stew.
Just
go right along.
You'll
start happening too...
~Dr.
Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, 1990
What
is to give light must endure burning. ~Anton Wildgans (1881–1932), quoted by
Viktor Frankl
Defeat
may serve as well as victory
To
shake the soul and let the glory out.
When
the great oak is straining in the wind,
The
boughs drink in a new beauty, and the trunk
Sends
down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only
the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can
know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come
To
stretch out spaces in the heart for joy.
~Edwin
Markham, "Victory in Defeat," c. 1908
So
do the Winds, and Thunders cleanse the Air:
So
working Seas settle and purge the Wine;
So
lop't and pruned Trees do flourish fair,
So
doth the Fire the drossy Gold refine.
~John
Davies, "Nosce Teipsum," 1599
If
the wind will not serve, take to the oars. ~Latin proverb
Misfortune
is a Wind that, rising higher,
Blows
out the Match but fans the Steady Fire.
~Arthur
Guiterman, "Of Indomitability," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924
Adversity
is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we
might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot
be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as
we might like to be. ~Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha, 1997, translated by
Jakob Haarhuis
When
life takes the wind out of your sails, it is to test you at the oars. ~Robert
Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
When
you forget to take the sail at all, then the wind is constantly in your favour
both ways. But there! this world is only a probation, and man was born to
trouble as the sparks fly upward. ~Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (To
Say Nothing of the Dog), 1889
Say
not that this or that thing came to thwart you; it only came to test you.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "Wind-Wafted Wild Flowers," in The Open
Court, August 1903
Let
the stormy sky be your prayer, raining faith down upon you. ~Terri Guillemets
Small
skill is gained by those who cling to Ease;
The
Able Sailor hails from Stormy Seas.
~Arthur
Guiterman, "Of Sailors," A Poet's Proverbs, 1924
Edith. It seems in the deep waters of
social life, as in those of the sea, we should not be able to get the beautiful
things they contained, if it was not that storms threw them on our shores. We
can discern much, as you say, when they are clear, but their greatest treasures
are only given up after agitation. The waters must be troubled before they
heal.
Lyulph. I am afraid our waters are as
restless as the ocean, so they should at least be always healing. Human
progression is a strange thing, such oscillations backwards and forwards, it is
often most difficult to see that any advance is made....
Edith. Antagonism and division seem
ruling spirits of our age. We struggle for union and seek the wells of
contentment, and find only the waters of strife; but let us have comfort and
remember that when the waters are troubled it is only that they may heal.
~Henry James Slack (1818–1896), The Ministry of the Beautiful,
"Conversation XIII: A Rocky Lane in Summer," 1850
Storms
question the weak and the strong alike — and the strong may not always have
answers but they always have resolve. ~Terri Guillemets
Past
and to come seems best; things present, worst. ~William Shakespeare, Henry IV,
Part II, c.1597 [I, 3, Archbishop
Scroop]
The
man who makes the best of opportunities is apt to get the best of obstacles.
~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, as
reprinted in Poor Richard Jr's Almanack, George Horace Lorimer, editor, 1906
During
the darkest indigo midnight, yet will countless stars blossom. ~Dr. SunWolf,
professorsunwolf.com
Allow
yourself a moment of grief when life's misfortunes visit you. However, do not
spend your days building a monument in honor of them. ~Dodinsky
Trouble
will meet you half-way and will gladly accompany you the rest of the distance.
~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1903,
George Horace Lorimer, editor
Getting
over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go
at some point in order to move forward. ~Author unknown
Notice
the disappointing things and marvelous things at the same time, because they
dance with one another. ~Dr. SunWolf, professorsunwolf.com
To-day
the heart feels fraught with woe,
And
keen-pronged thorns lie in the way,
But
as the Spring's breath melts the snow,
E'en
so our sorrows go, and gay
And
peaceful soars each troubled mind—
Each
sombre cloud is silver lined...
~Kimball
Chase Tapley, "To-day and To-morrow," 1800s
We
must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on. ~J.K. Rowling,
"A Sluggish Memory," Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,
2005 [Albus Dumbledore —tg]
Life
leaves bootprints all over us — we just have to keep getting back up. ~Terri
Guillemets
Your
heart has been sore wounded too. Dear Light, love shall cherish you, till you
again look on life with happy eyes. ~Byron Caldwell Smith (1849–1877), letter
to Kate Stephens
Perhaps,
it takes a touch of pain, or sorrow or of woe,
To
make man truly grateful for his blessings here below!
Perhaps,
it takes a few hard knocks to open up his eyes
To
facts pertaining to God's laws and make him realize
That
while he has his being here, much sorrow he must meet;
And,
if he's wise, he'll bravely take the bitter with the sweet!
Perhaps,
Twill make him stronger if he overcomes each woe;
Perhaps,
Twill make him kinder, and will help his Soul to grow!
~Gertrude
Tooley Buckingham (1880–1971), "Perhaps"
Everything
was in ruins. But her soul was still intact. ~Naomi Ragen, The Tenth Song, 2010
No
man ever understood the true meaning of life, or caught a glimpse of heaven,
until repeated misfortunes had dispelled the flattering dream of a selfish
imagination, and cured the blindness of his spiritual nature. ~James Lendall
Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone, 1882
Your
enemies are the best reflection of your own character: a strong man rarely has
weak foes. ~"Poor Richard Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening
Post, 1909, George Horace Lorimer, editor
We
paint our lives with peace and passion, with love and laughter — to cover the
pain and scars, the bitterness and tears. ~Terri Guillemets, "War
paint," 2009
Strange
how we decorate pain. ~Margaret Atwood, "Oh," Morning in the Burned
House, 1995
...for
even our misfortunes are a part of our belongings... ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,
Night Flight, 1931, translated from the French by Stuart Gilbert, 1932
My
own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I've had my share of difficult
moments, but it's like there was always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Whatever difficulties I've gone through, I've always gotten a prize at the end.
~Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993)
Misfortunes
never come singly because people always multiply them. ~"Poor Richard
Junior's Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1903, George Horace
Lorimer, editor
The
great doctors all got their education off dirt pavements and poverty — not
marble floors and foundations. ~Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)
It's
not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line.
~Ashleigh Brilliant, as quoted in The Reader's Digest, 1989
"The
horror of that moment," the King went on, "I shall never, never
forget!"
"You
will, though," the Queen said, "if you don't make a memorandum of
it."
~Lewis
Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, 1872
The
art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them.
~Bernard Baruch
...and
we take everything heartily and naturally in the right way, — for even mishaps
are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade
or the handle. ~James Russell Lowell
Soul
connections are often formed through the currents of adversity. ~Terri
Guillemets
Human
suffering, while it is asleep, is shapeless. If it is wakened it takes the form
of the waker. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S.
Merwin
When
a man tries to drown troubles on his way home, he always finds them sitting and
grinning on his doorstep like drenched cats. ~"Poor Richard Junior's
Philosophy," The Saturday Evening Post, 1906, George Horace Lorimer,
editor
There
are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of
adversity... when things seem so bad that you've got to grab your fate by the
shoulders and shake it. ~Author unknown
Beautiful
rainbows and life water
come
from a dark rain cloud —
What
gifts can you bring the world
even
in your times of darkness?
~Terri
Guillemets
Better
bread with water than cake with trouble. ~Russian proverb
When
suffering comes, we yearn for some sign from God, forgetting we have just had
one. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
Sometimes
the best way to fight a personal demon is to turn your back on it and let it
wither away. Often you need to face it head-on and slay it with every ounce of
your being. And occasionally it will do to draw a halo on it and convert it to
an angel or a friend. ~Terri Guillemets, "Don't dis any advantages,"
2006
And
these vicissitudes tell best in youth;
For
when they happen at a riper age,
People
are apt to blame the Fates, forsooth,
And
wonder Providence is not more sage.
Adversity
is the first path to truth:
He
who hath proved war, storm, or woman's rage,
Whether
his winters be eighteen or eighty,
Hath
won the experience which is deem'd so weighty.
~Lord
Byron, Don Juan, 1819
Would
you touch a nettle without being stung by it? take hold of it stoutly. Do the
same to other annoyances, and hardly will any thing annoy you. ~Augustus
William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827
I
cursed my misfortune, — and it remained one. ~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My
Little Book of Life, 1912
Pain
gives you the memory of things you shouldn't do. ~Craig D. Slovak
Even
when life isn't good on the outside, you have an option to make it good from
the inside out. ~Terri Guillemets
Some
days, we're just looking for a soft place to land. ~Dr. SunWolf,
professorsunwolf.com
Life
is rough. If it were smooth, we'd slide right through it without noticing. A
bumpy ride teaches us gratitude and perspective. ~Terri Guillemets
I
do not ask you to help me, but I would appreciate it if you did not hinder me.
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My Little Book of Life, 1912
Many
a man can overcome a difficulty in the path of another, which he could not
surmount were it in his own. ~James Lendall Basford (1845–1915), Sparks from
the Philosopher's Stone, 1882
Sometimes
our hearts get tangled
And
our souls a little off-kilter
Friends
and family can set us right
And
help guide us back to the light.
~Terri
Guillemets
Can
one deal with realities that are not shaken with sobs and wet with tears?
~Muriel Strode (1875–1964), "A Soul's Faring: VIII," A Soul's Faring,
1921
Adversity
enhances this tale we call life. ~Terri Guillemets, "Live, laugh, &
cry," 2005
Like
a plant that starts up in showers and sunshine and does not know which has best
helped it to grow, it is difficult to say whether the hard things or the pleasant
things did me most good. ~Lucy Larcom, A New England Girlhood, 1889
And
I learned there are troubles
Of
more than one kind.
Some
come from ahead
And
some come from behind...
So
I said to myself, "Now, I'll just have to start
To
be twice as careful and be twice as smart.
I'll
watch out for trouble in front and back sections
By
aiming my eyeballs in different directions."
...Then
NEW troubles came!
From
above!
And
below!... I had so many troubles, I just couldn't think!...
~Dr.
Seuss, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, 1965
I
know I'll have troubles.
I'll,
maybe, get stung.
I'll
always have troubles.
I'll,
maybe, get bit...
But
I've bought a big bat.
I'm
all ready, you see.
Now
my troubles are going
To
have troubles with me!
~Dr.
Seuss, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, 1965
In
most cases, misfortune is an acquired habit. ~James Lendall Basford
(1845–1915), Seven Seventy Seven Sensations, 1897
Bygone
troubles are good to tell. ~Yiddish proverb
This
was freedom. Losing all hope was freedom. ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, 1996
"It's
only after you've lost everything," Tyler says, "that you're free to
do anything." ~Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club, 1996
The
cold is a good counselor, but it is cold. ~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943,
translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin
The
world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.
~Ernest Hemingway, as quoted in A. E. Hotchner, The Good Life According To
Hemingway, 2008
In
this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and
the other is getting it. ~Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan, 1893 [Dumby —tg]
Sir:
there are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The
other is to get it. ~Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy,
1903 [Mendoza —tg]
Sadness
flowers to the next renewing joy. ~Terri Guillemets
Alas,
my Lord God, how small matters trouble me! every petty occurrence is ready to
rob me of my peace; so as, methinks, I am like some little cock-boat in a rough
sea, which every billow topples up and down, and threats to sink.... Lord, work
my heart to so firm a settledness upon thee, that it may never be shaken; no,
not with the violent gusts of temptation, much less with the easy gales of
secular mis-accidents. Even when I am hardest pressed in the multitude of the
sorrows of my heart, let thy comforts refresh my soul: but for these slight
crosses, oh teach me to despise them; as not worthy of my notice, much less of
my vexation. Let my heart be taken up with thee; and then, what care I, whether
the world smile or frown? ~Joseph Hall (1574–1656), Bishop of Norwich, The
Breathings of the Devout Soul (XXXIV), 1644
That
was rough.... Thing to do now is try and forget it.... I guess I don't quite
mean that. It's not a thing you can forget. Maybe not even a thing you want to
forget.... Life's like that sometimes... Now and then for no good reason a man
can figure out, life will just haul off and knock him flat, slam him agin' the
ground so hard it seems like all his insides is busted. But it's not all like
that. A lot of it's mighty fine, and you can't afford to waste the good part
frettin' about the bad. That makes it all bad.... Sure, I know — sayin' it's
one thing and feelin' it's another. But I'll tell you a trick that's sometimes
a big help. When you start lookin' around for something good to take the place
of the bad, as a general rule you can find it. ~From the movie Old Yeller
Hardship
is best sailed with a heart ship. ~Terri Guillemets, "Knocking hard,"
1989
Let
me embrace thee, sour adversity,
For
wise men say it is the wisest course.
~William
Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part III, c.1590
[III, 1, Henry VI]
If
God asks that you bend, bend and do not complain. He is making you more
flexible, and for this be thankful. ~Terri Guillemets
O
God, whate'er befall, spare me that supreme calamity — let no after-bitterness
settle down with me. Misfortune is not mine until that hour. ~Muriel Strode
(1875–1964), My Little Book of Prayer, 1904
Let
your joy scream across the pain. ~Terri Guillemets
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