We have a habit of saying, "everything happens for a reason." I don't think that this formulation of the way the universe operates, though superficially comforting, is very helpful. It leaves us looking for meaning in seemingly random events, including those that are on the surface quite terrible. It also causes us to look outside ourselves for explanations that are often unobtainable.
The fact is that many events in this physical
universe of ours do not happen for any discernible reason. Even the
minority of events that are directly attributable to human
choices are as often as not due to random, ego-based impulse. It debases Spirit
as well as ourselves to suggest Spirit is carrying out some cosmic agenda that
is beyond our comprehension, and that every tragic event that we experience is
designed to lead paradoxically to a greater good. We may even choose to abandon
the spiritual path rather than accept the notion that Spirit callously imposes
pain on us or other beings for reasons of its own. It
may also lead us to passivity and fatalism to believe that current events have
a cause that is in the past or "out there" somewhere. Better to
recognize that events are mostly random and to seek elsewhere for meaning.
The whole notion of causation (and therefore
"reasons") depends on the existence of time, of a past that has
brought us to where we are and a future that will develop out of the present.
Yet time is only a construct that human mind created to explain its limited
comprehension. Spirit has no experience of causation because it knows no past
nor future, only the eternal Now.
This does not imply that we who still live in a time-bound
space should abandon the working hypothesis of causation. Before our spiritual awareness reaches a certain level,
contemplating the lack of objective meaning in external circumstances may lead
us only to despair and destructive behavior.
Though we inhabit the physical universe only conditionally, in
order to survive the experience and remain sane we need to impose order on it. It is important for us to
realize, however, that such order is imposed by our minds and not by the
workings of Spirit. Nor should we turn to fatalism, for we still have the power to create a loving, peaceful space around us and others through the manner in which we react to events.
Rather than affirm that everything happens for a reason, I
would prefer to say that every experience presents us with a range of outcomes
that are determined by how we choose to respond to it.
What differentiates these responses from each other is their degree of
consistency with Spirit. Some will have the effect of enhancing the loving
relationships we have among ourselves and with Spirit; others will increase our
separation. In the end this is what determines whether the event is perceived
as having a positive or negative outcome. So, in a
sense everything does happen for a reason, but the reason for everything is the
same: to provide us with the opportunity
to develop an ever more harmonious relationship with Spirit by learning to
react to every situation with love and compassion.
This interpretation places the responsibility for our
relationships with Spirit and its various manifestations squarely where it
belongs: on each individual. It also refocuses our attention from the past to the
present moment. All events carry the opportunity for us to react in ways that produce greater or lesser
harmony between ourselves and Spirit. We
may see events as "good" or "bad", but those terms have
meaning only in relation to their effects in the physical universe. Since all physical things are impermanent, and
time is only a way of constraining our view of the universe, physical effects
have no significance compared to the way we choose to align ourselves in
relation to Spirit.
We are defining our role in
Spirit in every instant. Each moment presents the opportunity for greater love
and harmony. We are constantly at choice, and the choices we make define not
only ourselves, but our experience of the universe. In order to take advantage
of the opportunity for choice we must remain mindful that there is more than one
way to react to every situation, and be aware of what
those choices are. The closer we choose to align ourselves with Spirit,
the greater peace we will experience.
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It may also be that the Universe works according to laws that we do not understand, and therefore do not recognize. For thoughts on the working of karma, see this post: Karma the Teacher
1 comment:
I just read Deng Ming-Dao's essay entitled "Arbitrary" in his book, 365 Tao. He concludes as follows:
"Nothing in life gives us meaning in and of itself. It is we who assign meaning to objects and relationships. We all try to make the structure of our meaning pretty, but in the end, there is no escape from the feeling that it is all arbitrary."
"It might be better not to ruin the universe with our own patterns."
I assume he means to leave meaning to the Tao.
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