The Power of Perspective

The world feels so big and overwhelming right now. Some mornings I wake up and wonder what fresh headline will undo for the rest of the day. Another shooting. Another act of violence. Another division deepened. National Guard troops called into a city in my state - maybe... depending on a judges ruling. It’s all so much.

I can’t stop the gun violence. I can’t call off the troops. I can’t heal the political fractures that seem to widen daily. So much is simply beyond my control—and that can leave me feeling paralyzed.

In the middle of this heaviness, I’ve been clinging to a quote from Maya Angelou that has been echoing in my heart:

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

It sounds so straightforward, doesn’t it? But living into it is some of the hardest soul work I know. We all come to places where we feel stuck: in a job, in a relationship, in a season of life, even in the systems that govern us. We see what isn’t working and wish it were different.

Sometimes the path forward is clear—we can change it. We can step into a new role, make a different choice, or set a new boundary. Those decisions are rarely easy, but they carry a certain relief: action feels like progress.

But other times, longing to change is met by the reality of the systems we live within. Maybe you’ve been there too—you dream of change, you work toward it, but the walls don’t budge. You watch as others with louder voices or different connections seem to move freely while you keep hitting barriers. You long to move forward but feel held back by structures that were never designed with you in mind. And in those moments, even the desire to change feels paralyzing.

That’s where Angelou’s wisdom stings: “If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

Now let me be clear—changing my attitude isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It isn’t about plastering on a smile, ignoring the grief, or pretending injustice doesn’t exist. That kind of toxic positivity isn’t healing—it’s denial.

For me, changing my attitude looks more like shifting my gaze. It means asking different questions:

• Where is God’s presence in this place I’d rather not be?

• What invitation might I be missing while I’m busy resenting what I can’t change?

• How might I practice gratitude even here?

Sometimes the only change available to us is internal—choosing to see through a different lens, shifting from scarcity to abundance, from despair to hope, from bitterness to curiosity.

And here’s the grace: neither path is failure. If you can change something, that’s courage. If you can’t change it and instead shift your heart, that’s resilience. Both are forms of wisdom. Both are faithful.

Decisions, at their core, aren’t just about what we do—they’re about who we’re becoming.

So today, I’m sitting with Angelou’s words and asking myself two questions: What in my life can I change? And where do I need God’s help to change my heart instead?

Maybe you’re asking the same. Two things have helped me the last few weeks – prayers I learned long ago from my spiritual director that might help you too:

• The Sigh as Prayer: When that deep sigh comes, don’t push it away. Pause, close your eyes, and let it be a wordless prayer. Imagine God sighing with you.

• The Release Prayer: Hold your open palms out and pray: God, I release the outcome. I choose faithfulness, not control. My worth is not on the line.

  Do this whenever you catch yourself spiraling into “what if” scenarios.

Because at the end of the day, life will always hold both the things we can change and the things we can’t. The invitation is to meet both with faithfulness. To act when we can, to surrender when we must, and to trust that God is with us in every sigh and every step.

So let me ask you: where in your life are you being invited to change something—and where might God be asking you to change your heart instead?