Every cloud has a silver lining
Clouds are most unwelcome in cold countries because they shut out whatever little warmth and light is available. They are all the more unwelcome in winter. ‘Rain’ and ‘cloud’, therefore, enter into a number of expressions, all indicative of ‘misery or ‘misfortune’. Here also, they symbolize misfortunes. But no cloud is entirely dark. The sun, which it hides, is there in the sky and it brightens the fringes or the borders of these clouds. The proverb in question gives us a message of hope. Just as the sun is hidden but has not disappeared, in the same way our days are only temporarily darkened. They have not been completely blackened. We should not, therefore, become disheartened in the face of calamities, but should bear them cheerfully and wait for the sun to shine and misfortunes to fade out. This optimism in the troubled times lessens our misery and gives us the strength to bear pain. This ray of hope has guided many a man from the uttermost depth of defeat and prostration to better days. If they had not read some signs of hope in the days of their doom, they would have given up their struggle and would have been lost.
