Try as we might, we cannot force our children to reach their full potential. Theirs is the life that they alone must live. The role of the parent is to prepare the most fertile soil and appropriately water the seedling so it can most fully blossom.

Meaning: Constant movement or change can prevent someone from accumulating lasting commitments, resources or attachments. Whether that is a loss or a benefit depends on what the person values.

Meaning: Painful teeth are compared to troublesome tenants: something housed within your own place can become a persistent source of discomfort.

Meaning: A difficult period can reveal how a friendship responds to strain. Practical care and reliability may become clearer when support requires effort rather than easy company.

Meaning: Difficulty can expose weaknesses that praise or favourable circumstances leave unnoticed. Adversity is pictured as an unflattering observer, inviting an honest assessment without making hardship necessary for growth or a complete test of someone’s character.