Grief Vs Adversity

As I was leaving today, I asked a colleague who is also in the job market if he was doing okay. He said he is fine and that these things don't affect him too much. He said that when he lost his mother more than 25 years ago, he realised that there could be no greater pain. Which got me thinking: does grief make you stronger? My experience with grief is limited. My two grandfather who were well into old age, and a close friend whom I hadn't seen in three years and was living in a different country. None of them were part of the tapestry of my daily life. Some day, if I live to a decent age, I will experience grief. but does, grief make you more resilient to future grief? I don't think so. You don't cope with it, you live with it. Maybe time dulls the initial sting, the gnawing pain but the loss remains forever. Do you learn from grief? I havve no clue.

Adversity, on the other hand, can toughen you up. It can teach you about yourself and the world, and how to cope with both. It can make you more tolerant or more proactive or both.