Every cloud has a silver lining.
This proverb ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ means that you should never feel hopeless because difficult times always lead to better days. Difficult times are like dark clouds that pass overhead and block the sun. But at the same time, on the outer edge of the clouds you will invariably observe a silver lining that provides some measure of light and hope.
The problems and difficulties that we face in life are like those dark clouds. Stephen Hawking started experiencing problems with his health while he was barely 21, a student at Oxford. On occasion he would trip and fall, or slur his speech. Later on, he was diagnosed with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It was a disease in which the nerves that controlled his muscles were shutting down. He was given two and a half years to live. But as we know - he went on to live more than a half century beyond.
Thanks to an early diagnosis, advanced medical treatment and complete support from family, friends and students, he lived a full life and made major contributions to existing theories in physics and cosmology. These, in fact, were the silver linings that brightened what would otherwise have been a lacklustre life.
The life of Stephen Hawking proves that even though the difficulty we face might seem enormous, there is always hope, there are always ways to circumvent them and to keep on achieving and contributing to the world.
