On Attitude

"An optimist expects his dreams to come true; a pessimist expects his nightmares to." Laurence J. Peter

Sometimes the only thing we can change is our attitude--and that is enough. Our attitude can be much more important than the objective reality of the situation. One person who's stuck in traffic fumes at fate, snarling, "Why does this always happen to me?" Meanwhile, the person in the car just behind, stuck in the same impasse, sees the first person's "lost" time as "found" time -- the perfect opportunity to study a new language, meditate, or think through a problem without the interruption of a telephone call or visitors. One person sees only a problem and responds accordingly; the other sees an opportunity and likewise acts accordingly. The traffic jam is the same of both of them, but their attitudes about it are different --as are their blood pressures.
Some see the past as a cruel sentence of doom dispensed by an avenging God. Others see it as an opportunity, fairly given or not, to build strength and gain wisdom with the help of a loving God. The difference is all in the attitude.