Everything happens for a reason… or does it?

It is generally said with the hope of bringing some degree of comfort to a person experiencing a difficult time, we’ve all heard it or said it at some point. For myself, I don’t think I can say it ever really brought me comfort, it tended to make me more angry than anything. It diminished my hardship and my feelings. It made me feel as though people were saying “oh it’s fine, you will see there is a good reason this happened!” Really? There is a good reason I wasn’t safe at my friend’s house as a kid? There is a good reason bombs are dropped on innocent civilians? IS there a good reason that children are shot in school? For me, no, there is no good reason these things happen.

I struggled with this idea for years, as I heard it said through various experiences, and it left me always trying to think what could the reason be?? I felt that I had to come up with a justification for why bad things happen, what was the supposed lesson. Instead of being allowed to feel my pain, feel the full experience and let it pass through me, I found that this platitude had me focusing more on why the thing happened, and festering in it longer.

Then one day clarity came, and with that clarity came peace as it so often does.

That morning, I had taken myself through a deeper visualization exercise, really focusing on allowing my subconscious to be and guide me. That afternoon, I had my “ah ha” moment. I am continually amazed at how somatic work has such a rippling and unraveling effect hours and even days later. With each layer that opens, new thoughts, feelings, ideas and truths are revealed.

The truth is this: Nothing happens for a reason beyond whatever reason that individual had for doing it. In the case of natural disasters, mother nature is its own being of the universe with its own free will. Does that seem chaotic to you? It absolutely does to me! Many religions teach that we have free will, we get to make our own choices, God isn’t forcing us to do anything, though He will encourage us on the best path if we pay attention.

This is the beauty, and the actual comfort. The universe (or God if you prefer that title) is a professional at organizing chaos. It acknowledges our free will, knowing that with so many different beings with this freedom of choice is bound to create a mess of things, and is then continuously trying to guide us to the best path in any situation.

The universe in its infinite wisdom is not proactive in creating misery and making bad things happen in the world. It is divine and endless love that knows how to show up in the chaos of free will’s bad actions and guide each of us to a better life. It allows us to feel the pain of an experience, come along side us, hug us and then help us get back on our feet and continue to seek the good. Instead of proactively causing the pains of the world, it is reactive to it, always working to clean up the messes we get ourselves into, or whatever messes happen to us. And that brings me actual comfort.