Adapted from Attitudes of Gratitude, by M. J. Ryan (Conari Press, 1999).

Some believe that life is an active force at work on an individual. They believe that for every person, there are three circles of influence: you, other people, and life itself. Instead of feeling alone in an uncaring, random universe that throws trouble your way, you can take comfort in feeling that there is some two-way relationship between life and you.
Maybe there is good reason some things show up? Find out! Try the following practice for a week:
In the course of your daily life, whenever you encounter something that is not your idea of a good thing, ask yourself, “If everything that is happening is right, how is this right?” What’s right about the fight with your mother, the fender-bender, your aching back? Without negating what’s wrong, ask yourself what function or need is the event serving? Maybe what’s right about the fight is that you are learning to say No; maybe the fender bender is a wake-up call that you are too stressed out; maybe your aching back is a reminder that your body wants some exercise.
Again, this is not to deny, suppress, or ignore the difficulty or pain you might be experiencing, but rather to take the meaning from the suffering so that the lesson won’t have to be learned again.
At the end of the week, reflect on the experience. What changed in you as a consequence of looking for what’s right?