We generally are where we are and who we are in life as the result of circumstance. It's usually not the circumstance themselves that are the cause of our condition—it's the choices we've made and the actions we've taken or not taken within the context of those circumstances that have created the "reality in which we live."

I'm not casting blame, nor am I ignoring the fact there are incredible challenges, disadvantages, hardships, and even cruelty in the world. Some of the conditions and situations people of the world have had to endure exceed my capacity to imagine or perhaps even cope. But for most of us, living in relative safety, freedom, and within the confines of civilized societies, there's more than simply "hope", there's the opportunity to create the life we can imagine.

--Spike Humer here