We are not enslaved by our lives; we are free. Being free, in this case, means simply that we have a body and a mind, and we can uplift ourselves in order to work with reality in a dignified and humorous way. If we begin to perk up, we will find that the whole universe including the seasons, the snowfall, the ice and the mud is also powerfully working with us. Life is a humorous situation, but it is not mocking us.