It was a section of a longer work, which explored human purpose, so I apologize if the abbreviation makes it lose some of its meaning. I don't actually want to share the whole text at this point (some of it is a bit personal), but, on the other hand, you still raise a good point. However, it's my opinion (of course, I've never lived any of those situations) that the same lessons apply. If you do work that good for humanity, even if it is miserable work, you should glean happiness is what you are able to achieve. The conditions are different, but I guess my focus is on avoiding saying "This is what I wasn't able to do", and replacing it with "This is what I have done". Which seems to be a tough task for most any person.