I'm feeling a little sober so I want to reflect a little on life and the persistent nature of hardship.
When I turned 20, my mom told me; "You're either in a crisis, getting out of a crisis or heading into a crisis".
It seemed such a pessimistic slant on it

As I grew older, I experienced my fair share of successes but sure enough, hard times were constant.
It seemed impossible to be happy for 3 days straight, there seemed to be some misfortune lurking in the shadows.

And then there were the really big misfortunes; periods of lows so bad that life itself would seem to end. I came to realize that I needed a working protocol for adversity; adversity is not a glitch of existence or a bug, it is an essential irremovable feature

At varying periods of my life, hardship has seemed to reach a crescendo and I try to remember the words of Peter, the hero of Hugh Walpole's novel 'Fortitude'

I'll quote mainly from Obafemi Awolowo;
After life had done terrible things to Peter he heard a voice that
said to him, among other things, "Blessed be all sorrow, hardships
and endurance that demand courage. Blessed be these things: for of
these things cometh the making of a man

My working protocol is simple; in times of plenty, I learn to be calm and take it for what it is, a simple upturn of fortunes.
When the bad times come, although it is a tad more difficult, I try to embrace it with the same calm and composure.

You're not special or exempt from life's machinations. If you can tell other people when they're facing bad times that it'll pass, when it's your turn, remember to take your own advise.
Selah