It’s easy to say “everything happens for a reason” but it can be really hard to connect with the greater meaning, especially when bad things happen. I am reminded of the late Baba Ram Dass, who often said that his stroke was actually a gift that gave him another way to serve people. A stroke of inspiration, he said, and grace.
I’m not sure most of us would see it that way.
But what if we did?
What if we saw everything that happens to us as opportunities? Is life really random? Or is there greater meaning in the things that happen?
How often have we been inspired by someone’s response to their health challenges?
Or their response to widowhood?
Has a loved one’s illness propelled you to reach out in ways you hadn’t before?
Have your own tough times been a catalyst for helping others?
You get the drift. Loss is hard. Any kind: death, job loss, health loss, the loss we are feeling now of our way of life as we shelter in place.
Loss is also an opportunity.
A chance for us to reach out, either for support or to give support. It can be the spark for a different way of life.
“I just don’t know what this illness is supposed to be teaching me,” my dear friend once said to me.
“Ah,” I responded. “Maybe the lesson isn’t for you at all. Maybe it’s for the rest of us.”
Curious about how a spiritual connection or past life regression might help you access that greater meaning? Let’s talk!
Too often we don’t know why something happens, but know there is meaning to an event. Maybe we will never understand or understand years later, maybe that’s OK.
Those words are more profound than they seem!
I like to think of things that happen to us to be opportunities for change or self-improvement. I do believe some things happen for a reason as well.
I am convinced of it. Even hard things.
Ohmyword, yes! I feel we learn from everything that happens. Even if it only serves to give us a different perspective.
And I am so inspired by people and their response to their challenges. A young man I taught (till he graduated) was rendered quadriplegic by a bicycle accident at the tender age of 14. He is the cheeriest person I know. He confided in me that his dearest wish is to be married. The sweetheart. All I could think was, “Lincoln, she’ll have to be a very, very special person!”
I love love love your response.
Loss is hard. But being there, being a witness can help you learn more about yourself.
Having known my late childhood best friend for 53 years before her passing in 2015, and all the medical challenges she faced with courage, I have to believe that her life had meaning. It certainly changed the arc of her life more than once, too.