The wise men left and after a few weeks returned and gave the king a ring. The king knew that his wish had been granted. When sad, like our modern comedian, the king could look at the ring and be reminded that his sadness was temporary. Things were bound to get better at some point in the future. The opposite is true as well.
Life flows and changes and nothing stays the same.
Some methods of coping with this reality are more useful than others. And some have withstood the test of time surprisingly well. This is one reason why I like Dale Carnegie's work. He was captured by the Americans and sent to a POW camp in Oregon. During his stay he was given this book by the US Army.