Take a deep breath. You do not need to be in the thrall of upset. It is not so important that you are right or wrong. It is important that you keep your balance. The world is fraught with distress. You do not have to be.
 
Even when your rights are being infringed upon, you can remove yourself from aggravation. Even if you are handcuffed, and you are innocent, you can be handcuffed and let the aggravation go. You have to, beloveds. It may seem to you that you are at the mercy of the world, yet it is you who has to be merciful to yourself. You may be bound hand and foot, yet you do not have to tie yourself up in knots. Let your emotional life be under your jurisdiction.
 
The world can toss you around. That does not mean that you yourself have to be in league with upset.
 
Sure, you may be tossed around by the waves of life, yet you can maintain steadiness within yourself. You have to, or you are at the whim of life, blown about by the winds.
 
Of course, you want the world to be merciful to you. Meanwhile, count on yourself, beloveds. Meanwhile, count on your own mercy. Meanwhile is right now. Right now is your call.
 
You do have say over how you interact with life.
 
If you don’t like frustration, then do not let frustrating events frustrate you. You can lean in the direction of being unbound. You can admit the possibility. If life has denied you in some way, makes you run through hoops, closes doors in your face or whatever, you, beloved, are a soul, and souls do not have to take orders from the world at large. You are more than a bouncing ball. You have steadiness within you. You do not have to take on all the colors of your environment. You are not exclusively a reactor.
 
You can be cool under the sun.
 
You do not have to be a warrior or a boxer in life. You do not have to put your dukes up because life seems to invite you to fight. Even in confinement, you have choices.
 
You are not made of hard metal. You are not a robot who is programmed. You have the capacity to rebound from every situation. Regardless of anything, you can come shining through. You are a human being, and you have inner resources. You are bendable. You can bend to your will and not necessarily someone else’s.
 
What you make of your situation is what you make of it. You are the decider of defeat. You are the decider of strength. You have the capacity to interpret yourself to yourself and to the world. I am not speaking of a brave front. I am speaking of the intelligence and power that are yours.
 
That you can overcome may have many meanings. Fighting isn’t your only prerogative. Nor is succumbing. You may be in the situation you are in, whatever it may be, yet you are spirit, and spirit is not confined to the world of walls or chains or anything. Just as when you go into a department store, looking for a shirt, you have a selection to choose from. As a human being made of spirit, you have choices available to you. You have the opportunity to be what you want to be. How do you want to conduct yourself? What do you want to be?
 
I do not speak of a performance to show the world. I am speaking of your heart which can be what you want it to be. You can put up your dukes, or you can present the palms of your hands. Of course, you can rise above situations and roles you are cast in. You can go beyond boundaries. Of course, you can surprise yourself.