Why It Feels Like Things Happen For A Reason

As ego driven individuals, we love to think that the universe is all about us.

That we are at the center and everything that happens, happens because the universe has some divine plan for us.

We are compelled to believe that the universe personally cares about us.

Otherwise, what is the point?

How can we care about the universe if it does not care about us?

But just because we need it to care, does not mean that it does.

The universe or a god, as some might view it, is not a human, nor does it function like one.

It does not experience emotion or empathy.

And it does not care about the ways in which humans perceive and experience what it is.

It functions objectively.

And therefore, fundamentally, things do not happen for a reason.

They happen merely because of the arbitrary alignments of time and space.

Mere coincidence.

But then why does it so often seem that when things happen, they happen for a reason?

That everytime something happens to us, it leads to some purpose in our life.

That even when bad things happen to us, they can end up leading us to good things.

Certainly there must be a reason why the cliché, "everything happens for a reason," is so widely popular.

The real reason is because of the resilience of human nature and the power of our imaginations.

Things appear to happen for a reason not because the universe or a god-like figure is watching over us, playing us like a pre-written video game, but because as humans, we have the power to MAKE things happen for a reason.

When things happen to us, we assimilate them into our life and give them a reason for being there.

We perceive the alignments of time and space and attach narratives and purpose to the things that occur.

We are the writers of our own story.

For every moment we experience, we have the ability to write our own meaning.

For every conflict we face, we have the ability to write our own resolution.

We can learn, adapt, and create purpose out of the randomness of life within the universe.

And in my opinion, that is even more comforting than the idea that things happen for some ulterior reason.