The plain working truth is that it is not only good for people to be shocked occasionally, but absolutely necessary to the progress of society that they should be shocked pretty often.

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.

The beauty of life is its sudden changes. No one knows what is going to happen next, and so we are constantly being surprised and entertained.

Chance is the nature of our universe. […] madness represents a chaotic reservoir of surprises. Some surprises can be valuable.

Shock is a merciful condition. It allows you to get through disaster with a necessary distance between you and your feelings.

every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

Every Adversity Has the Seed of an Equivalent or Greater Benefit.

Every adversity, every unpleasant circumstance, every failure, and every physical pain carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit.

The joy of living, its beauty is all bound up in the fact that life can surprise you.

Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which, in prosperous circumstances, would have lain dormant.

O to be self-balanced for contingencies, to confront night, storms, hunger, ridicule, accidents, rebuffs, as the trees and animals do.

They think that everything happens for a reason, and it serves them. They believe that every adversity contains the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit. I can guarantee you

Challenge and adversity are meant to help you know who you are. Storms hit your weakness, but unlock your true strength.

We must content ourselves with the mystery, the absurdity, the contradictions, the hostility, but also the generosity that our environment offers us. It's not much, but it's always better than the deadly, defeatist certainty of the paranoid.