"Everything Happens For A Reason"

I hear this cliche' thrown around a lot, but I really do not believe in the popular saying 'everything happens for a reason.'

Good or bad, shit just happens.

Sure, bad things that happen can open doors for good things to happen, but it can also be the other way around. Every event that happens in life leads to other events. Imagine the day you were conceived(if you dare). If one of your parents had made one slightly different move that day, you may not be here today to read this incredibly insightful blog. :-)

The point is, I hear this cliche used a lot when people are trying to console someone else after a bad turn of events for that person. And if it makes someone feel better about matters, then by all means, I'm not taking that away from anyone. I'm not writing this with some jaded attitude, I'm merely pointing out that I don't think there are any magical forces at work in the atmosphere. We create what happens with the choices that we make.

If you get fired from a job, then get hired for a better one down the line, some people will say "See? Everything happens for a reason." But how about you just got fired (fair or not), and you applied yourself heavily and got hired for a better one?

Are you going to tell me that if my town gets anniahlated by a hurricane, a natural, uncontrollable weather occurrence, that there was a reason for that? My house is in shambles and people are hurt or killed and I am supposed to find some underlying goodness to it? No, this happened, now I have to react to it. How we respond is really the thing that is under our control.

There doesn't always have to be a reason, or some underlying, uncontrollable force at work in the air. As much as I'd like to believe that, it is not reality. We make our own opportunities. We work to get what we get.

Hypothetically, what if you divorce from someone and someone tells you "everything happens for a reason."? But then nothing good really ever comes from it? What was the 'reason' for that? Maybe it awakens another part of your soul and you get involved in activities and meet friends whom you never would have met if you hadn't of divorced. But is that a magical force or a natural occurrence of events that you yourself made happen?

Hey, I'm all for quips and cliches if they help you get through something horrific. But I do think sometimes that someone going through something awful may not want to hear that there was a reason for it.

I'm sure I am in the minority, but to me, good or bad, stuff just happens. That's just how life is.