Realize that no condition is permanent. There are seasons in your life just as in nature. No situation which confronts thee, good or bad, will last.
     Make no plans that extend beyond a year. In life, as in war, plans of long-range have no significance. All depends on the way unexpected movements of the enemy, that can not be foreseen are meet, and how the whole matter is handled.
     Your enemy if you are not prepared, can be the cycles of life, mysterious  rhythms of ups and downs like the great seas that rise and fall on the shores of the world. High tide and low, sunrise and sunset, wealth and poverty, joy and despair - each of these forces will prevail in their time.
     Pity the rich man riding the high tide of what seems an endless chain of great accomplishments. When calamity strikes he is ill-prepared and comes to utter ruin. Always be prepared for the worst.
     Pity the poor man, buried in the low tide of failure after failure, sadness after sadness. Eventually he ceases trying, just as the tide is changing and success is reaching out to embrace him. Never stop trying.
     Always have faith that conditions will change. Though your heart be heavy and your body bruised and your purse empty and there is no one to comfort you - hold on. Just as you know that the sun will rise, so also believe that your period of misfortune must end. It was always so. It will always be.
     And if your work and your patience and your plans have brought you good fortune, seek out those whose tide is low and lift them up. Prepare for your future. The day may come when what thou hast done for another will also be done for thee.
     Remember that nothing is constant, but treasure the love you received above all. It will survive long after your gold and good health have vanished.
     And plan to lose even that love, after a time, knowing that one day you will be reunited for all eternity in a place where there are no cycles, no ups and downs, no pain or sorrow and above all, no failures.