If You Were Tested, Would You Pass?

<p>Perhaps you remember the 90s hit by the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, “The Impression That I Get.” You know, the ‘neeeeevvvvvvveeeerrrrrr had to knock on wood’ song? If you haven’t listened to it in a while, you should, because it holds up surprisingly well.</p><p>Anyway, there are a couple of lines at the beginning of the third verse that go like this:</p><p>I&apos;m not a coward, I&apos;ve just never been tested</p><p>I&apos;d like to think that if I was I would pass</p><p>It’s as if Dicky Barrett, the Bosstones’ lead singer and songwriter, was writing straight from the lessons of the Stoics, because it aligns perfectly with one of <a href='https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/preview/dpheh0hz/aHR0cHM6Ly9kYWlseXN0b2ljLmNvbS9zZW5lY2EvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9Y29udmVydGtpdCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWNvbnZlcnRraXQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXdvdWxkLXlvdS1wYXNz'>Seneca’s most beautiful observations.</a> &quot;I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune,” he writes of everyone who has lived a soft or sheltered life. <a href='https://el2.convertkit-mail.com/c/preview/e5uph7h9/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zdGFncmFtLmNvbS9wL0JoRktuanNCaEVXLw=='>“You have passed through life without an opponent—no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you.&quot;</a></p><p>Not even you.</p><p>That’s the question the song is about. That’s the angst it is trying to express. Yes, it’s great to live in a time of peace. Yes, it’s good to be well-off or successful in your career. Yes, it’s wonderful if everything always goes your way. But with this good fortune also comes a nagging doubt, an insecurity and a dissatisfaction. Because deep down, you know it can’t continue like this forever. You know that everything good comes to an end. And what then? How will you handle it? <em>Can </em>you handle it?</p><p>The lessons from this are two-fold. One, if you are going through something tough, well...keep going. And appreciate what you are learning, both about the world and about yourself. It’s a test, keep doing your best and you’ll pass. Two