Clash of the Cliche's

I was sitting in my bar review course the other day and while the instructor was giving us pointers and tips for taking the exam she used the phrase "it is what you make of it", which, of course, made me think of the ubiquitous phrase "it is what it is".

The first time I really paid any attention to the latter was when I was working at my first law firm in New Jersey. One of the attorneys I worked with was really into Eastern Philosophy... On one particular day he was explaining the epiphany he'd had when he came across that phrase in a writing of one of his...mentors.

For Alan, it seemed like a life-changing event. It is what it is... I was less than moved. As time went on, it seemed as if I couldn't go anywhere without hearing that seemingly trite phrase, in fact, I began to use it in my own dialogue.
Like most cliche's, people tend to glom onto them because "it's so true!", they say... This is where I part company with that thought train-wreck.

"It is what it is"... seemingly means that the situation or thing presented is how things are... deal with it.
Contrast that with the other phrase - "it is what you make of it". In contrast, doesn't this suggest that the situation or thing is whatever you, as the phrase says "make of it"? This reminds me of another platitute commonly used in today's "feel good" world. "When life gives you lemons - make lemonade". However, I don't think those are analagous at all.

I'm also thinking of the novel The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco, the Italian scholar. In this book, Eco carefully demonstrated that any two people can look at the same object and come away with very different interpretations of it. He did this by looking at a picture and then looking at the same picture through a lens of sorts, or "rose-colored glasses", the idea being that we all have some sort of lens that we look at life through. Our lens is a creation of our life experiences, upbringing and cultural influences.
A very simple example of this is any political argument. As an illustration, just go to a common news web-site and read an article and then read the readers' comments. It's amazing how various readers can differ on the meaning of the same words.

You've surely heard the expression, "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it." Try this one... "I wouldn't have seen it if I didn't believe it".
It is what it is? or It is what you make of it?