That happiness which comes after misery is all the more enjoyable; it is to one scorched in the sun that the shade of the tree gives exceptional relief.
In its function, the power to punish is not essentially different from that of curing or educating.
You say: “He lost his life” or “my life”, as if life were something that you can possess or lose. The truth is: you don’t have a life, you are life. The One Life, the one consciousness that pervades the entire universe and takes temporary form to experience itself as a stone or blade of grass, as an animal, a person, a star or a galaxy.
Are you aware of the significance of every thought, of every reaction that you happen to have?
When we see everything in life as a game, we will be equally joyous when falling as we are when rising. If we can fully understand this – if we can see life as swinging on a swing – we will never fall apart when failure comes our way.
