Circumstances
The American Dream is that any man or woman, despite of his or her background, can change their circumstances and rise as high as they are willing to work.
We're all caught up in circumstances, and we're all good and evil. When you're really hungry, for instance, you'll do anything to survive. I think the most evil thing — well, maybe that's too strong — but certainly a very evil thing is judgment, the sin of ignorance.
A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.
There's always going to be the circumstances you can't plan for. There's always the unexpected relevance and the serendipity.
The key to abundance is meeting limited circumstances with unlimited thoughts.
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.
Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.
When you read about the lives of other people, people of different circumstances or similar circumstances, you are part of their lives for that moment. You inhabit their lives, and you feel what they're feeling, and that is compassion. If we see that reading does allow us that, we see how absolutely essential reading is.
A lot of people live in fear because they haven't figured out how you're going to react when faced with a certain set of circumstances. I've come to terms with this by looking deeply into whatever makes me fearful — what are the key elements that get the hairs up on the back of my neck — and then figuring out what I can do about it.
So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit.
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