Ever wonder why do bad things happen to good people?
It seems like the people who would otherwise deserve to have only the best things in life, because if anyone was deserving of it, these people would be, they’re courteous, kind, loving, giving, even self-sacrificing, always more concerned about the greater good.
Yet, sure enough, when the cards of life are dealt, they appear to suffer injustices in spades. Why does it appear like that?
A common response is, “God only gives us what we can handle,” with an underlying supposition, something to the effect of, “So, God must think I am,” (or some other good person is), “stronger than Superman!” As if the hardest of times visits the most powerful and superior candidates.
In the search for truth, one might ask, “Do bad things happen to good people?”
The answer is, “Yes. Bad things happen to good people.” Therefore, it is true, bad things do happen to good people, but as much as this is true, other antithetical truths also prevail. Just as “What goes up must come down,” and, “The quickest route between two point is a straight line,” are both truth, other truths exist that are contrary to those truths also.
That being said, here are some alternative truths to consider in regards to bad things happening to good people:
- Bad things happen to all people
- Random things happen, at random times, involving random people
- Some people attract circumstances unconsciously on purpose
- Some (bad) things must occur to further a grander purpose, or lead to evolution
- Bad things are not bad
Bad things happen to all people
Negative circumstances are not respecters of persons. It doesn’t matter what kind of person you are, if you were on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, you dealt with the same circumstance as everyone else on that trip, whether you were a good person or a bad person. This includes random accidents, acts of violence and natural disasters.
Random things happen, at random times, involving random people
The common colloquialism is simply, “Shit Happens.” And indeed it does. Random things happen, that may well be part of some kind of domino or butterfly effect. Nonetheless, where such things intersect with a particular human being, could be a coincidence.
Some people attract circumstances unconsciously on purpose
According to the Law of Attraction, that which you focus on increases. That means, if you intensely focus on being wronged, you are likely to attract more being wronged. In this scenario, good people could (unbeknownst to themselves) attract more bad circumstances by focusing on their being the victim of an injustice.
Some (bad) things must occur to further a grander purpose, or lead to evolution
Sometimes in life, bad things happen to good people who can use their unfortunate experience to have empathy and offer support to others who have suffered a similar wrongness, change a paradigm (either from within themselves or even the community at large), leading to transformation or evolution and making the world a better place.
Bad things are not bad
Then there is the less popular truism, “There are no bad things.” This is the idea that all things – even if their intention was bad or to cause harm – was actually just the opposite. This is where I like to hang my hat because based on my experience all of the things I have experienced that were less than my best, wrong, full of bad intentions or meant for evil (even with the highst degree of malice and forethought) have all actually been the best things in my life.
These were the moments that forced me to change direction radically, which was painful at the time, but has always led me in another direction or furthered my personal revelation or enlightenment.