The above quotation comes from the inestimable Frederick Douglass and is as apropos now as it was back when it was first stated. The dilemma that we have is that so many of us living in this material world, are unable to disassociate ourselves from our five senses, alongside of our ego that pretty much acts as if it is captain of the ship; but that mindset isn't correct, as that which is physical is not eternal, and that which we so often treat as being permanent actually is not. In reality, we are our soul, and that soul, is eternal, unchanging, and perfect. All the human errors that we make, as well as the good that we do, are part and parcel of the adventure that incarnating into human form onto this earth, so provides; but that which limits and hinders us in this world, does not exist in our soul, it never has and it never will.
We are born into this world to take on the identity that we agreed to incarnate in, and once brought into this dimension, we while being masters of our own thoughts, our decisions, as well as the deeds so done, are not though able to ever make this world bend to our desires, for we have not the power, and never will. Once here, we have to play by the rules that this planet represents, fair or foul, and within this dimension, all sorts of things are going to happen, of which we are merely the players within a grand play. This does not indicate that what we do or say, here, does not matter, for it most certainly does; but rather that what so happens here, affects not our soul, but rather the aura of what we believe that we so represent and of which we are ultimately the ones solely responsible in the re-aligning of ourselves to the universal law of Godliness, or if we insist, to exist instead in a void, outside of pure blissfulness.
While we should shed tears for injustices so done, of which humanity spends and exerts far too much energy in such negativity; it is wise to also recognize, what Frederick Douglass know for a certainty, that no other human being or institution of this world, can take away or degrade our soul, for our soul is God, and God is immutable, unchangeable, and perfection. Those that believe, that Christ crucified, was indicative of a game in which Christ was the loser; know not what they are talking about. That which is eternal, cannot ever be vanquished; Christ's visible resurrection was proof of that; and those that get so caught up in worldly affairs so as to believe that there is no other existence beyond what they can see in the mirror, are delusional, for the physical is never the master of the eternal.
This world is a proving ground, so provided for each one of us, to demonstrate in action, as to whether our existence here, helped to make society better for our efforts, or not. Those that have failed in that task, have not degraded their soul, but they have stepped away from that which is the necessary part for their needed advancement, and that, thereof, is the challenge that all must eventually successfully pass.