On Fortune Good and Bad

When the duality of 'good' vs. 'bad' is transcended, neither does the distinction between 'good fortune' and 'misfortune' remain. When a certain fate crosses paths with us, I cannot say with any conviction that the laws of karma cause it to be, or that it is all part of God's grand plan, and that everything always happens for the best. Honestly, I don't know. In this, however, my conviction does lie - that in every moment, we have a choice - towards freedom or bondage; whether we're aware of it or not - we're choosing one over the other, all the time. And what is (binding perhaps or) still more liberating, is that this awareness too, is of our own choosing. It is up to us. Then this bondage becomes the 'misfortune', and freedom - the 'good'.

Here's an excerpt from Book 4 of Meditations that speaks to this oft-engaging thought process:

Be like the headland with wave after wave breaking against it, which yet stands firm and sees the boiling waters round it fall to rest. 'Unfortunate am I, that this has befallen me.' No, quite the contrary: 'Fortunate am I, that when such a thing has befallen me, I remain undisturbed, neither crushed by the present nor afraid of what is to come.' For such a thing could have befallen anyone, but not everyone would have remained undisturbed in the face of such a blow. So why is this a misfortune rather than something fortunate? Or do you generally say that human fortune can lie in something other than a deviation from man's true nature? And do you suppose anything to be a deviation from man's nature if it does not conflict with the will of that nature? Well then, you have learned to know that will. Can what has befallen you prevent you in any way from being just, high-minded, self-controlled, prudent, deliberate in your judgment, empty of deceit, self-respecting, free, or from possessing any of the qualities which by their presence make it possible for man's nature to come into it's own? So henceforth, in the face of every difficulty that leads you to feel distress, remember to apply this principle: this is no misfortune, but in bearing it nobly there is good fortune.