“Difficulty shows what men are. Therefore when a difficulty falls upon you, remember that God, like a trainer of wrestlers, has matched you with a rough young man. Why? So that you may become an Olympic conqueror; but it is not accomplished without sweat.”
Epictetus
Reminds me of a lesson from an English class freshman year of high school - the subject was ancient Western myths as Western literature - the story that comes to mind is a fable from the Old Testament were the character wrestles with a vision he sees in the shadows, and this vision becomes stronger as the character becomes more determined not to lose or quit --- character realizes he his wrestling an angel - opponent vanishes and the character awakens with an epiphany.
I will have to look into which story this was.
The inspiration I get from the Epictetus quote is that I, we, am capable of getting through difficulties, --- but it is the intellectual, emotional an…