The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man is perfected without trials."

True love does not change from moment to moment. Only the love that is unchanging and always shines brightly in the heart is true love. It is unaffected by joy or sorrow, praise or blame. That love is true devotion. The proof of the rain is in the wetness of the ground. Likewise the proof of true devotion lies in the peace of mind that the aspirant has been able to attain; the peace that protects him against the onslaught of failures, the peace in which he remains unruffled by loss and dishonour.

story

This is an old one but still interesting. Not sure how much true the story is ...

A city boy, Kenny, moved to the country and bought a donkey from an old farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day. The next day the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died last night ."

Kenny replied: "Well then, just give me my money back."

The farmer said: "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

Kenny said: "OK then, just unload the donkey."

The farmer asked: "What ya goanna do with him?"

Kenny: "I'm going to raffle him off."

(Note: To raffle is to sell a thing by lottery - draw lot -to a group of people each paying the same amount for a ticket)

Farmer: "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!"

Kenny: "Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he's dead."

A month later the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "What happened with that dead donkey?"

Kenny: "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898."

Farmer: "Didn't anyone complain?"

Kenny: "Just the guy who won. So I gave him back his two dollars."

Kenny grew up and eventually became the chairman of Enron.

- Now I believe this may be true given the Enron problems :)