God uses suffering as a whetstone; to make men sharp with. ~Henry Ward Beecher


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


Life didn't promise to be wonderful. ~Teddy Pendergrass


Don't cry when the sun is gone; because the tears won't let you see the stars. ~Violeta Parra


The difficulties of life are intended to make us better; not bitter. ~Author Unknown


If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows; you might tell them sorrows know how to swim. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You; compiled by H. Jackson Brown; Jr.


Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air; is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies. ~Erich Fromm


Better bread with water than cake with trouble. ~Russian Proverb


Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have; which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. ~Garrison Keillor


I had a lover's quarrel with the world. ~Robert Frost; The Lesson for Today; 1942


We acquire the strength we have overcome. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn. ~Author Unknown


People don't ever seem to relate that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune. ~William McFee; Casuals of the Sea; 1916


Happiness can be found; even in the darkest of times; if one only remembers to turn on the light. ~Steven Kloves; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?(movie)


There are two things that one must get used to or one will find life unendurable:? the damages of time and injustices of men. ~Nicolas Chamfort


Life is made up of sobs; sniffles; and smiles; with sniffles predominating. ~O. Henry; The Gifts of the Magi


Enduring habits I hate.... Yes; at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect; because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits. ~Friedrich Nietzsche; The Gay Science; 1882


The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials. ~Confucius


If you want to forget all your other troubles; wear too tight shoes. ~The Houghton Line; November 1965


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


Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles. ~Maltbie D. Babcock


Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. ~Garth Brooks


I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.


We do survive every moment; after all; except the last one. ~John Updike


A man is insensible to the relish of prosperity 'til he has tasted adversity. ~Sa'di (Musharrif-uddin)


Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. ~Rainer Maria Rilke


Happiness is beneficial for the body but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind. ~Marcel Proust; The Past Recaptured; Remembrance of Things Past


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. ~Washington Irving; The Sketch Book; 1820


Life is thickly sown with thorns; and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes; the greater is their power to harm us. ~Voltaire


Even as the stone of the fruit must break; that its heart may stand in the sun; so must you know pain.... [A]ccept the seasons of your heart; even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.... ~Kahlil Gibran; The Prophet; 1923


The healthy and strong individual is the one who asks for help when he needs it. Whether he's got an abscess on his knee or in his soul. ~Rona Barrett





If you're going through hell; keep going. ~Winston Churchill


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


Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?? ~Rose F. Kennedy


Sometimes it's worse to win a fight than to lose. ~Billie Holiday


I have sometimes been wildly; despairingly; acutely miserable; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~Agatha Christie


We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't. ~Frank A. Clark


A new wound makes all the old ones ache again. ~Mignon McLaughlin; The Neurotic's Notebook; 1960


Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us. ~Rainer Maria Rilke


Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power. ~Seneca


There is no education like adversity. ~Disraeli


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 the most good. ~Lucy Larcom


Even our misfortunes are a part of our belongings. ~Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry; Night Flight; 1931; translated from French by Stuart Gilbert


The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities. ~Sophocles


If you're in a bad situation; don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation; don't worry it'll change. ~John A. Simone; Sr.


You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far. ~Uncle Remus


But ne'er the rose without the thorn. ~Robert Herrick


Sometimes the littlest things in life are the hardest to take. You can sit on a mountain more comfortably than on a tack. ~Author Unknown


I have woven a parachute out of everything broken. ~William Stafford


"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"


A problem is a chance for you to do your best. ~Duke Ellington


Poverty; Frost; Famine; Rain; Disease; are the beadles and guardsmen that hold us to Common Sense. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Hardship is best sailed with a heart ship. ~The Quote Garden


There is no ghost so difficult to lay as the ghost of an injury. ~Alexander Smith


Man performs and engenders so much more than he can or should have to bear. That's how he finds that he can bear anything. ~William Faulkner


Every evil is some good spelt backwards; and in it the wise know how to read Wisdom. ~Coventry Patmore


The misfortunes of mankind are of varied plumage. ~Aeschylus; The Suppliant Maidens


In a real dark night of the soul; it is always three o'clock in the morning; day after day. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald


You have come into a hard world. I know of only one easy place in it; and that is the grave. ~Henry Ward Beecher


Bygone troubles are good to tell. ~Yiddish Proverb


Soul talks to adversity. ~Jareb Teague


I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa


We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey. ~Kenji Miyazawa


Adversity collapses around a true adherent soul. ~Jareb Teague


Problems are messages. ~Shakti Gawain


Have the courage to face a difficulty lest it kick you harder than you bargained for. ~Stanislaus I; Maxims


There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over; the wound is closed and healed; done with. ~Harry Crews


May you get what you wish for. ~Old Chinese Curse


"Every path hath a puddle. ~George Herbert; ""Jacula Prudentum"""


The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. ~Harry Golden


In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants; and the other is getting it. ~Oscar Wilde; Lady Windemere's Fan; 1896





You may not realize it when it happens; but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you. ~Walt Disney


Calamity; n. A more than commonly plain and unmistakable reminder that the affairs of this life are not of our own ordering. ~Ambrose Bierce; The Devil's Dictionary


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


I owe much to my friends; but; all things considered; it strikes me that I owe even more to my enemies. The real person springs life under a sting even better than under a caress. ~Andr? Gide


We must try not to sink beneath our anguish... but battle on. ~J.K. Rowling


Adversity enhances this tale we call life. ~Ever Garrison


Problems are only opportunities with thorns on them. ~Hugh Miller; Snow on the Wind


Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting; it may not be logical but it is often true. ~Mr. Spock; Star Trek


"There's a bit of magic in everything; and some loss to even things out. ~Lou Reed; ""Magic and Loss"""


Men grow tired of sleep; love; singing and dancing sooner than of war. ~Homer; Iliad


Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems; you don't get any seeds. ~Norman Vincent Peale


The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. ~Theodore Rubin


It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. ~John Steinbeck


You never know what you've got until it's gone. ~Author Unknown


Convert difficulties into opportunities; for difficulties are divine surgeries to make you better. ~Author Unknown


That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best; which it assuredly does not. ~James K. Feibleman


If all misfortunes were laid in one common heap whence everyone must take an equal portion; most people would be contented to take their own and depart. ~Socrates


We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival. ~Winston Churchill


Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which; in prosperous circumstances; would have lain dormant. ~Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus); Satires


Problems are the price you pay for progress. ~Branch Rickey





He that struggles with us strengthens our nerves; and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. ~Edmund Burke; The Revolution in France; 1790


There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you. ~Woody Hayes


"Mishaps are like knives; that either serve us or cut us; as we grasp them by the blade or the handle. ~James Russell Lowell; ""Cambridge Thirty Years Ago;"" Literary Essays"


Everybody ought to do at least two things each day that he hates to do; just for practice. ~William James


The problem with troubleshooting is that trouble shoots back. ~Author Unknown


It is always in the midst; in the epicenter; of your troubles that you find serenity. ~Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry; Wartime Writings 1939-1944; translated from French by Norah Purcell


You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity. ~Walt Schmidt


Count the garden by the flowers; never by the leaves that fall. Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll. ~Author Unknown


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


If I had a formula for bypassing trouble; I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't embrace trouble; that's as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say meet it as a friend; for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes


We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking; only to learn that it is God who is shaking them. ~Charles C. West


Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist:? it reduces him to his fighting weight. ~Josh Billings


Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater. ~William Hazlitt


He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche


They say a reasonable amount 'o fleas is good fer a dog - keeps him from broodin' over bein' a dog; mebbe. ~Edward Westcott


Much of your pain is self-chosen. ~Kahlil Gibran; The Prophet; 1923


Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor. ~Truman Capote


The robbed that smiles; steals something from the thief. ~William Shakespeare; Othello


It is better to drink of deep griefs than to taste shallow pleasures. ~William Hazlitt; Characteristics; 1823


Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ~Bill Gates; Business @ the Speed of Thought


Criticism may not be agreeable; but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. ~Winston Churchill


The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them. ~Bernard M. Baruch


If the thunder is not loud; the peasant forgets to cross himself. ~Russian Proverb


What a pity human beings can't exchange problems. Everyone knows exactly how to solve the other fellow's. ~Olin Miller


Adversity introduces a man to himself. ~Author Unknown


Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. ~Francis Bacon


How can something bother you if you won't let it?? ~The Quote Garden


Things are never so bad they can't be made worse. ~From the movie The African Queen


My strength is made perfect in weakness. ~II Corinthians


Flowers never emit so sweet and strong a fragrance as before a storm. When a storm approaches thee; be as fragrant as a sweet-smelling flower. ~Jean Paul Richter


The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears. ~John Vance Cheney


It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief; as though sorrow would be made less by baldness. ~Cicero


Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive. ~Josephine Hart


The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them. ~Bernard M. Baruch


If the wind will not serve; take to the oars. ~Latin Proverb


When it is dark enough; you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn; so that we see ourselves as we really are. ~Arthur Golden; Memoirs of a Geisha


Real pain can alone cure us of imaginary ills. We feel a thousand miseries till we are lucky enough to feel misery. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge


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


To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. ~Bertrand Russell


No man ought to lay a cross upon himself; or to adopt tribulation; as is done in popedom; but if a cross or tribulation come upon him; then let him suffer it patiently; and know that it is good and profitable for him. ~Martin Luther


For fate has wove the thread of life with pain;


The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. ~Norman Vincent Peale


It just wouldn't be a picnic without the ants. ~Author Unknown


Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out. ~Edwin Markham


The beauty of the world has two edges; one of laughter; one of anguish; cutting the heart asunder. ~Virginia Woolf; A Room of One's Own; 1929


If we will be quiet and ready enough; we shall find compensation in every disappointment. ~Henry David Thoreau


When suffering comes; we yearn for some sign from God; forgetting we have just had one. ~Mignon McLaughlin; The Neurotic's Notebook; 1960


Adversity is the first path to truth. ~Lord Byron


"Rock bottom is good solid ground; and a dead end street is just a place to turn around. ~Buddy Buie and J.R. Cobb; ""Rock Bottom"" (song)"


I ask not for a lighter burden; but for broader shoulders. ~Jewish Proverb


To have become a deeper man is the privilege of those who have suffered. ~Oscar Wilde


Nothing prevents happiness like the memory of happiness. ~Andr? Gide; L'immoraliste


Fortune knocks but once; but misfortune has much more patience. ~Author Unknown


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; The Unfinished Country; 1950


It's not easy taking my problems one at a time when they refuse to get in line. ~Ashleigh Brilliant


Despair is anger with no place to go. ~Mignon McLaughlin; The Neurotic's Notebook; 1960


The cold is a good counselor; but it is cold. ~Antonio Porchia; Voces; 1943; translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin


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. ~Robert Fulghum


When the Japanese mend broken objects; they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful. ~Barbara Bloom


Against criticism a man can neither protest nor defend himself; he must act in spite of it; and then it will gradually yield to him. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Maxims and Reflections


Sleep; riches; and health to be truly enjoyed must be interrupted. ~Johann Paul Friedrich Richter; Flower; Fruit; and Thorn


I bear a little more than I can bear. ~Elinor Hoyt Wylie; Angels and Earthly Creatures. One Person. Sonnet XVI


Tragedy is restful:? and the reason is that hope; that foul; deceitful thing; has no part in it. ~Jean Anouilh; Antigone; 1942


Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!


God brings men into deep waters; not to drown them; but to cleanse them. ~John Aughey


There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. ~Michel de Montaigne


Let me embrace thee; sour adversity; for wise men say it is the wisest course. ~William Shakespeare


Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires - disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way. ~Bernie S. Siegel


The course of true anything never does run smooth. ~Samuel Butler


If you can find a path with no obstacles; it probably doesn't lead anywhere. ~Frank A. Clark


"When written in Chinese the word ""crisis"" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity. ~John F. Kennedy; address; 12 April 1959"


As long as you keep getting born; it's alright to die some times. ~Orson Scott Card


Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. ~African Proverb


I believe there are more urgent and honorable occupations than the incomparable waste of time we call suffering. ~Colette


Turn your wounds into wisdom. ~Oprah Winfrey


"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; 1872"


Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. ~M. Kathleen Casey


God gave burdens; also shoulders. ~Yiddish 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


Let your joy scream across the pain. ~Ezbeth Wilder


Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel. ~Gilbert Keith Chesterton; Orthodoxy; 1909


The darkest hour has only sixty minutes. ~Morris Mandel


If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it; change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit


When you're feeling your worst; that's when you get to know yourself the best. ~Leslie Grossman


Bad is never good until worse happens. ~Danish Proverb


Some come from ahead and some come from behind.


I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and it isn't of much value. Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them. ~Boris Pasternak


Watch a man in times of... adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart; and the mask is torn off. ~Lucretius; On the Nature of Things


A bad grade is only one letter in the Essay of life. ~Lee Drake


Past and to come; seems best; things present; worse. ~William Shakespeare; Henry IV