Whatever has happened, has happened for good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for good.
Whatever is going to happen, it will be for good.
What have you lost for which you cry?
What did you bring with you, which you have lost?
What did you produce, which has destroyed?
You did not bring anything when you were born.
Whatever you have, you have received from Him.
Whatever you will give, you will give to Him.
You came empty handed and you will go the same way.

Whatever is yours today was somebody else's yesterday and will be somebody else's tomorrow.

SO WHY WORRY UNNECESSARILY?

Change is the law of the universe.

The reason I like Chekhov's (and a number of Russian authors' including Tolstoy's) writing is indeed that they are unusual (I wouldn't call them eccentric). The fact that most of them didn't live very long in the 20th century makes their works even more interesting for me. I feel that their works are not bound by the limits of time, and do 'hold the mirror up to the nature'. Moreover, their's is a somewhat different cultural perception than that of European & American writers. I can't comment on their love writings, though, as I haven't read many romantic short stories, including "About Love". Stories like "The Bet" are more in my taste. Having said this, I am not in touch with literature for quite sometime now, and hope to revive this interest with the help of like-minded people here on TIG!

To the above question, at any given point in time, I would say "Short stories", without thinking twice. Below is a link to an online collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, one of my favorite authors.

http://www.readbookonline.net/stories/Chekhov/91/

"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain."

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."

"An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before."

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."

- Mark Twain

"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between."
- Oscar Wilde

"Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?"

- RFK (as quoted by Ed Kennedy)

"A child miseducated is a child lost."

"A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality."

"A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on."

"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."

"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men."

"I'm an idealist without illusions."

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him."

"Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all."