At those times when events or persons conspire against us and our design, we may surrender abjectly and bitterly, or martyr ourselves in a glorious and righteous battle to the death. The resentment, the pain, the anger, and the disillusionment will still burn within us. It is not easily consoled or resolved by either comfort or time. The wisdom and experience of age is of some solace to those of us who have the foresight, maturity, and humility to embrace it, but for many others the passing of the years and the catalogue of its disappointments only add to the confusion and disgust at our supposed misfortune and miseries.

But we have not “found ourselves” in a dark forest by happenstance or misfortune; we have delivered ourselves there and must take responsibility for it, and for the choices and decisions we have made in life. We cannot console ourselves with the idea that what has happened has been a mistake, or a grievous and deliberate undermining of our chances in life by forces beyond our control. These rationalisations are shallow excuses seeking to absolve ourselves of the blame when the subsequent outcome based on those decisions is not to our liking. It offers little comfort in a dark forest, for there is a terrible immutable logic to it that cannot be undone.