Coming at it from this angle, I would say this....Everything in life is going to be what you make of it. Yes, bad things happen that we have no control over. BUT...we DO have control over how we respond to and react to those bad things. We can choose to be bitter and angry and see only the darkness or sadness of a situation....OR we can CHOOSE to find the lessons we can apply to improve our lives.
If someone close to me dies, of course I will mourn and grieve. But do I choose to stay there in that place of sadness? Or do I choose to rejoice that I had such a remarkable person in my life to begin with? Do I choose to wallow in my grief and numb myself with various substances? Or do I choose to live my life in such a way that that person would be proud of me?
If I find myself in the midst of extreme financial crisis....do I whine and complain and blame everyone around me for my troubles? Do I feel entitled to some sort of rescue from the world? Or do I learn to be frugal...do I learn the value of not only a dollar but of all the things I still have? Do I strive to improve myself so that I can improve my financial circumstances?
Easy??? Certainly not. But it's a choice and a power we all possess.