I love these words by Camus, so full of hope.  What he is telling us is that when we go through our own personal dark winters, we learn not only that we we can survive, but that we are strong.  We can do more than we ever expected.  We can go farther than we ever imagined.  We can rise up!  The summer within us is invincible.

The adversity that changed my life was an illness and disability.  You might have gone through something completely different - a death, a divorce, an act of violence, the destruction of your home, or a loved one gone missing. 

It takes on a multitude of forms, but the feelings and responses adversity evokes are common to us all.  The most typical first reactions are:

• An overwhelming sense of chaos.
• A sense of loss of control.
• A surreal sense of disbelief.
• Feelings of fear.
• Feelings of anger.
• An impulse to fight back (or could be an impulse to withdraw).

In addition to all this, there is an underlying belief that this should not be happening.  Think of the things we say:

"This can't be happening."
"Things like this don't happen to me."
"This should not be happening."
"It's not supposed to be this way."

All of these expressions are other ways of saying "I can't believe it."

We all have our own ideas about the way our lives should be, and we become very attached to them.  Adversity shakes them up and can even tear them right down.  As we recover and rebuild our lives, we go from disbelief and rejection of what has happened to belief and acceptance.  In that process we find renewal.

Adversity means different things to different people and depends on what their experience was and the attitude they have about it.

In the beginning it might mean something like this:

It shows up uninvited.
It takes control.
It changes your life in ways you don't want.
It takes what you want away from you.
It forces you into situations you don't want to be in.
It stops you from doing what you want to do.
It's ruthless and cruel.
It's unfair.

After working through its challenges, it might mean something like this (yes, it really can!):

It helps you become a better person.
It makes you achieve more than you ever thought you could.
It makes your relationships deeper and more meaningful.
It shows you what's most important in life.
It helps you become more compassionate and understanding.
It makes you appreciate life much more.
It leads to the discovery of true joy.
It gives you wisdom.

Between these two perceptions there is a long road to travel.  There is no standard road map.  The route you take will be uniquely yours.

All the issues of loss, control, injustice and meaning that a life-changing adversity stirs up are the roablocks you will encounter along the way.  You can't go around them.  You can, however, learn how to remove them and carry on past them.