THERE is a saying, Life is not a matter of holding good cards but of playing a poor hand well. Today, no one has been dealt a perfect set of circumstances. Often the secret to gaining control is learning both to accept those circumstances and to work within the limitations that they impose. If you can reclaim some control of your life despite unfortunate circumstances, that is good. If your circumstances eventually improve, that is better. But the best is yet to come.
THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!