"All he lost he shall regain"

Learning by rote is not just effective for low-level knowledge like multiplication tables or state capitals, I've come to believe. I think it's a good way to remember and reinforce more complex and subtle concepts as well. Like:

Our circumstances - our health, finances, relationships, and every other aspect of our lives that we spend time and energy thinking about - are whatever they are. When they are not what we'd like them to be, we typically feel bad - anxious, sad, angry, confused, and every possible blend or combination of these states. 

But luckily, we can sometimes find ourselves suddenly distracted or lifted up out of out of our dark places and feel lighter and content, if only for a short time. And the interesting thing is that in most cases, there's been no change in our circumstances. The bad's still bad, the good's still good.

So, it would seem that at least some suffering is voluntary. And if so, we have the ability to be happier by just choosing to not to suffer.

Repeat as needed.