Daily Wisdom Notes

Learning What Each Challenge Requires I have already lived for more than half of my life, and one truth has become impossible for me to ignore: life has never been easy. Almost every stage has tested some part of me. One problem has required patience. Another has demanded courage. Some situations have tested my judgment, while others have revealed whether I could remain calm when events did not follow my plans. A few problems were solved quickly. Others stayed with me for a long time before I understood what they were asking of me. Are these difficulties only suffering? They can certainly cause suffering. A serious illness, loss, betrayal, or failure should not be reduced to a convenient lesson. Pain is not pleasant simply because we may eventually learn something from it. Yet when I look at the ordinary difficulties that have filled much of my life, I do not see them only as suffering. I also see them as tests—not tests given to punish me, but situations that reveal what I understand,...