You cannot perceive spiritual truth until you feelingly experience it, and many truths are not really felt except in adversity.”  [UB 557:02]

Thought Adjuster: “Let us talk about The Need for Contrast.  Adversity provides contrast in human life.  Without its challenges, human beings would linger in a comfort zone that would fail to bring out the best in them.  How so? 

“You cannot self-proclaim to be an athlete if you never exercise.  Nothing would differentiate you from a couch potato, as you would fail to live up to the implied expectations of that qualifier.

“A dedicated athlete strives at setting new records.  Whether or not they are world records, what matters the most is that he tops his own personal records.  You could coin it as his personal ascension process on the ladder of human athletic achievements. 

“He spends hours in the gym, honing his skills.  He may enlist the expertise of a personal trainer who will push him to constantly top his personal victories.  The time will then come to compete with similarly highly motivated athletes, who will do their utmost to win the coveted title of gold medalist.  This is the reason why healthy competition brings out the best of the best.

“Competition and adversity have common grounds in that sense.  Life will present you with an obstacle course customized to foster your personal growth.  Someone’s greatest challenges may be a walk in the part for someone else.  Adversity is the virtual gym that promotes your spiritual growth as well as your ability to tap into your abundant God-given inner resources—your survival kits. 

“If life never presented you with these spiritual Olympics, you would not accumulate the brownie points of experiential wisdom and you would fail to experience the thrills of a life lived to its fullest.

“Dear ones, do not resist adversity!  Work with it, just as martial art opponents effectively deflect the forceful attacks of their adversaries by smartly destabilizing them.  Indeed, adversity can be overcome.  It is the manure that fertilizes the soil of your precious soul.  Don’t you recall with pride any past challenges that felt overwhelming at first?  Haven’t you experienced over and over that they are the spiritual battlegrounds where you earned the medals of honor that you proudly display on your chest? 

“The contrasts of your life are meant to bring out the spiritual beauty of your being and to drive you to develop your amazing potentials.  At times, they are stern and unyielding teachers.  Yet, when graduation time comes around, they proudly hand you the diploma that you earned though your bravery, steadfastness, and the vision for better days that you held in your heart.”