The real wisdom here isn't that suffering passes—we all know that—but rather that *character itself becomes the through-line*. Schuller distinguishes between circumstance and constitution, suggesting that what survives hardship isn't luck or timing but the person you've become while enduring it. A parent who loses a job learns this viscerally: the economic crisis resolves, but the resilience they've built, the relationships they've deepened by asking for help, the humility they've gained—these remain. The quote asks us to stop waiting for conditions to improve and instead tend to our own durability.