“You may think that Gods are the ones who give you benefits, and Demons cause damage; but it may be the other way round. Those who cause pain teach you to be patient, and those who give you presents may keep you from practicing the Dharma. So it depends on their effect on you if they are Gods or Demons”.

Machig Labdron 

Machig Labdron (1055-1149) was a famous Tibetan yogini who developed the practice of Chod. 

and then there is this one:

“If a way to the Better there be, it exacts a full look at the Worst.” Thomas Hardy

There is a direct relationship between tolerating/accepting paradox and spiritual and psychological maturity (inner peace). There are many paradoxes to encounter in life. For example, we think having plenty of money generates happiness, but then we realize this is true and also not true, because large amounts of money tend to complicate relationships and can present huge difficulties. 

The  core paradox of life is that while now we are alive, we know that one day we will die, as will those we love and rely upon. At a certain point we have to stop scrambling around this and accept it as best we can. Often it is the first time we go through the serious illness and/or death of someone very close to us that we are forced by circumstance to confront this core dilemma of being human. Cognitively this is almost impossible to handle, but spiritually it is completely possible. The release into acceptance liberates a lot of energy that was previously tied up in coping with existential anxiety.