The Baal Shem Tov once said that he was capable of rising to heaven in a fiery chariot as did Elijah, but he would rather undergo the transformation of “…and to the earth you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)

Because through the initial dip downward—as far down as you could possibly go—you can reach much higher.

So if it seems to you at times that your life has made a sharp turn downward, or that the world around you has taken a great leap backward,

Know that this is only a necessary prelude to a great spring forward and upward yet to come.

In the view from above, everything is always moving only upward.

Torat Menachem Hitvaduyot, vol. 5, pg. 192.