“Whenever you find yourself blaming providence, turn it around in your mind and you will see that was has happened is in keeping with reason.”
Epictetus, Discourses.

We are all living in difficult and ‘interesting’ times right now. What Epictetus tells us here is that we always have a choice about how we look at these situations. He is not saying that by looking on the upside, somehow the downside will become less painful and distressing. He is saying that things happen for a reason, and that, when we are able to be objective (unemotional) and to take a step back (distance ourselves psychologically), we can better see the bigger system of which the current challenge is a part, and to understand the rhyme and reason of how it functions.

More objectivity means less emotionality and therefore less stressful thinking, freeing us up to understand, learn and plan for a better future.