{"id":1409,"date":"2014-11-23T00:24:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T05:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flowermandalas\/?p=1409"},"modified":"2014-11-23T00:24:49","modified_gmt":"2014-11-23T05:24:49","slug":"the-transformative-power-of-misfortune-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/flowermandalas\/2014\/11\/the-transformative-power-of-misfortune-5.html","title":{"rendered":"The Transformative Power of Misfortune (5)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"140322_150339_97_DMC-FZ200_a_600x400\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Everything Happens for a Reason”<\/h2>\n

I often hear the phrase “Everything happens for a reason” when I talk with people about their lives. The usual context is that something unexpected, often something bad, has occurred either in the distant past or more recently, and with a philosophical shrug and a meaningful look, someone says, “But, you know, everything happens for a reason.” Then whoever I’m talking with goes on to explain what that reason was, or what it might turn out to be.<\/p>\n

And maybe that’s true. Maybe there is a Grand Scheme and every moment of each of our lives is a predictable part of it, if only we had a broad enough perspective to perceive it. Or maybe not.<\/p>\n

“Everything happens for a reason” seems, for many, to be a comforting thought, but I have always inwardly railed against it. I prefer to believe that, in much the same way we see figures in the shapes of clouds, everything happens, and we make meaning of it because that’s what people do.<\/p>\n

What’s important, I think, is not the reason Fate had in mind when it made things happen, but, rather, what use we make of what has befallen us as we move on from it.<\/p>\n

This argument is as old as the ancient Greeks. Which camp do you fall into?<\/p>\n

I hope you’ll share your experiences and insights either here, as comments, or by emailing me<\/a> your stories. If you send a story, please let me know whether you’d like me to post it with attribution or anonymously.<\/p>\n

More anon,<\/p>\n

David<\/p>\n

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Text and images \u00a9 2014, David J. Bookbinder. All rights reserved.
\nPermission required for publication. Images available for licensing<\/a>.
\nflowermandalas.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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