Strong Mixture of Troubles

Sorry for posting nothing personal, but right now I need words from others to help make me feel stable, or comforted. This time of year seems to have a strong sense memory (as 6 years ago at this time I lost my job, was thrown into a questioning, desperate, frustrating, angry and frightening time). Its good to be reminded of how far you've come, and at the same time is difficult to feel as if you've not done what you've intended -- right now I'm reflecting quite a bit, searching, wondering ...

He who knows no hardships will know no hardihood. He who faces no calamity will need no courage. Mysterious though it is, the characteristics in human nature which we love best grow in a soil with a strong mixture of troubles. — Harry Emerson Fosdick