‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ that is how a saying goes. Adversity—suffering and poverty—also has its advantages. Suffering brings out in man’s character his capacity to endure; his strength of character and his self-confidence. When a man is doing well, he feels that the world is all good and pleasant. He hardly knows what suffering is or can be. Everything seems so rosy and cozy. But when one falls into adversity, one has to gird up his loins and faces the realities, stand up to them and to fight them through. There are some who would just surrender to sorrows and lose all courage and whine and weep– they are the chicken-hearted persons who crumble and crash with the little pressure. They hardly deserve to be men. Those who stand up to face the misfortune are the men of faith and fortitude–they have faith in themselves and faith in God–they know that even the worst turns into the best. Life is a story of ups and downs–that is how they take the moments or the period of adversities. Adversity also puts to test so many things. It puts to test your friends too. Prosperity wins friends, adversity tests them. True friends are those who would keep up their closeness even during the period of adversity of their friends. Thus, adversity has its own ‘sweet uses’–it puts to test a man’s own character, his courage and his confidence in himself as also it puts to test the world around. Life’s path has ruggedness too and also has its lessons to give; if one walks on that path for some time and thereafter reaches the golden goal, how pleasant that seem to be. One judges the goodness by contrast. If clouds are not dark, the flash of lightning would not be dazzling. Misfortunes make the return of fortunes look so pleasant.
Vocabulary
Adversity—difficulty
Chicken-hearted—timid
