Take a listen while you read . . .

Those who are conscious of their ability to change circumstances, those who are conscious of their ability to change and refuse to (i.e. laziness or habit), and those who are unconscious of this ability. Perhaps the most life-changing lesson I've learned so far this year is the 90/10 rule. Each and every thing that happens in your life is 90% your perspective and 10% the actual event. Simply put, it's all about how you look at it. Cliche right? Well, let's think about it in terms of suffering.

To suffer is the most blunt, straight-forward way of recognizing you care.

Probably the most defining suffering is because of people and this is the best (worst) kind. It's the most raw, real and shaping in your life and is all due entirely to love. It's what makes you stronger, it's what hurts the most, it's what teaches you to love and trust and surpass things you never thought you would or could get through. It has made you and makes you who you are; it is beautiful and painful in each and every way; but mostly, it's just stunning that you love that much; and having that HUGE capability to love is one of most powerful forces in the world.

Then, there's situational suffering which is due to circumstances. Some will consider the current economy in America as "suffering," but heck, more than 50% of the world lives on less than $2.00 a day.  God wont give you anything you can't handle.

Truthfully, it's heck of a feat, but trust the world. People have what many personality analysts call a "locus of control." It's a range between internal and external--the internal extreme being that you believe you control your destiny completely and the external extreme being that you believe you dont control your destiny at all.

Internal <-------------------------------------------------------------> External

Personally, I think somewhere in the middle, skewed to the left is the most inspiring.

So here's the big question: how do you deal? Well, that depends. You can run and scream and rummage through bad habits and weary thoughts. You can sit and dwell (my old favorite) about woulda, coulda, shoulda. You can do something else. Something productive. You can change your mood. You can force yourself, very concsiously, to see the good and focus on all the good. But here's the thing, it really is a matter of forcing yourself and it is very possible because you are a human being; you have a soul and mind beyond a brain and a heart. You know what to do and how to do it at all times--even if you think you dont. You trust the world and if you actually listen to your insides, you'll see that we really are OK.

You know, I wondered the other day why, if people had to die, would God make it such a painful situation for humans to deal with; and I didn't get it for a little while until something clicked. We just need it. We wouldn't know how to appreciate living or the people we've lived with without the pain. It's used to show us we love. It's used to show us that no matter how many fights or how many aches the world may throw our way, we're still very capable of loving.

How could that not be beautiful?

To the 1/3 of people, I hope the numbers grow.