We can find peace even in adverse conditions.

There’s an old saying: “Bloom where you are planted.” Like flowers, we aren’t able choose some aspects of where we “grow”—where we’re born, for example, or what our environment is like growing up. All we can do is try to “bloom” as well as we can under the circumstances.

President David O. McKay, who was president of the Church about 60 years ago, had a favorite saying that he’d seen engraved on a Scottish building when he was a young missionary: “What e’er thou art, act well thy part.”¹ It’s the same idea. Whatever your role in life is, do your best at it.

The apostle Paul expressed this thought in yet another way: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

And he was in prison when he wrote that!

Now, being content with your situation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve it if possible. It doesn’t mean you should tolerate being abused or mistreated. It simply means that when it comes to circumstances you can’t control, you’ll be a lot happier if you try to make the most of them.

Remember what President Russell M. Nelson said: “The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”²

Look for the good. Have a sense of humor. Enjoy the world’s natural beauty. No matter what your situation, there is always—always—a way to feel a bit of peace of hope!

Notes
1. Here’s a short video about this.
2. See “Joy and Spiritual Survival,” October 2016 general conference.