If you've never heard of Mary Hunt, please don't tell me because I will bombard you with "pro-Mary" propaganda lol.  She's the founder of Debt-Proof Living (formerly Cheapskate Monthly) and yes, I am one of her many newsletter subscribers.  She has a sound approach to finances and this bleeds over into everyday life as well.  On September 22, 2005 I was on her site (for several reasons I'm sure) and I know I was feeling some circumstances because I saved this for later reference:

Mary’s thought for the day, September 22, 2005

Above or Under the Circumstances?

Your circumstances today ... at this very moment, can either make you or break you. The choice is ours. So what will it be for you? Today will you choose to rise above your circumstances? Or will you go through the day, content to just survive under the circumstances?

I have a very dear friend driving from Houston to Austin to flee the arrival of Hurricane Rita. I just spoke with her and it appears to be a nightmare just getting out of the city. She's driving alone and I can't think of a more terrifying situation.

Carol's car is loaded with all it can hold. She has no assurance of when she will be able to return to her home, her friends and loved ones in Houston.

Circumstances. Carol's appear to be bleak. Yet when I spoke with her only minutes ago, she was filled with joy--grateful to have a place to go in Austin, grateful to have a full tank of gas, grateful to be traveling without using her air conditioning (she considers 84 F at 5:30am to be "cool"). She's living above her circumstances.

What are you facing today? You can either look at today through eyes of defeat or you can rise above your circumstances and be grateful for where you are. You can give in and give up or you can refuse to allow your situation to pull you down.

It's all up to you.

 

Sometimes when our circumstances seem so insurmountable, it's so easy to become discouraged.  I have my own circumstances, as I'm sure you do too.  The choice in how we deal with those times is entirely up to us.  No, I don't always make the right choice and often pay a steep price in the end.  But, the times when I do, when I turn to the Lord and hand my burden over to Him, I feel lighter.  Suddenly being "positive" doesn't seem like such a stretch and the Light being shed on everything gives me a new perspective.