Many of us have grown used to a high standard of living, and expect it to remain that way, or get better, never dreaming it might deteriorate.

     But conditions seldom accord with our desires, and we complain and blame others for what we perceive to be our misfortunes. Is it reasonable to do so?

     Life does not always go on an incline, from good to better; neither does it always follow a downward curve; nor does it always go on a level plane. Instead, as attested by history, it rises and falls, like the waves of the sea; sometimes we are up on the crests, sometimes down in the troughs, and sometimes in between. Or, to use another simile: