Recently a client looked at me crying and said, why? "Why did this happen to me?" Her question in part was rhetorical but it was also a pleading for an answer. She looked at me, the mental health professional to give some insight into why this tragedy had befallen her. At first I gave a spiritually pat answer that 'we choose our path here and we know what we are in for before we incarnate even though on a human level we don't understand why.' It was an incomplete and maybe even a wrong answer and I knew after I said it that it was not comforting to her. She looked at me, thankfully with an understanding of where I was coming from but said, "I chose this?" Pointing to her now disabled body from a devastating accident that she wasn't the cause of. I then was given another chance by her and said the better answer of, "I don't know."
I don't know why some people live after fighting cancer, while others die. Why some people are abused and others are protected from this. Why some people's lives are easier than others. Why some people who desperately want to have children and would make wonderful parents, cannot get pregnant and others have an easy time. Why some people are disabled or killed after an accident and others walk away unscathed. Why some children are hungry, sad, and lonely. Why some elderly people are sad, lonely and hungry.
I wish I had the answer for her but I didn't. I don't.
If I was going to guess I would say that if everything was without risk, then we wouldn't need to be here. If everything was a matter of obvious karma then there would be no mystery. If everything went along as it was supposed to then there would be much fewer lessons.
I know for myself that prayer has helped me tremendously and (it would seem) has provided untold protection. The few times that I have prayed and it hasn't worked out I have had to trust that there is a lesson here that is beyond my human scope of understanding but maybe my spirit can gleam some wisdom. Maybe my spirit can grow from the experience and evolve into a better one. Because I believe that ultimately this it what we are here to do. To become better beings. This opportunity to be here on earth has so much potential to benefit us, but the risks are daunting if we dwell on them. A landmine of risks. Trust, Faith and Presence are tools that we can use in the face of tragedy. An understanding that there are no human answers to explain the mystery of being here and the way of our path and the path of others isn't always clear.
I speak these words of, "I don't know" with humility, reverence, frustration, sadness and sometimes even with awe.
The details of my client have been changed to protect her privacy.
As published on http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/07/why-did-this-happen-to-me-the-only-real-answer/
I don't know why some people live after fighting cancer, while others die. Why some people are abused and others are protected from this. Why some people's lives are easier than others. Why some people who desperately want to have children and would make wonderful parents, cannot get pregnant and others have an easy time. Why some people are disabled or killed after an accident and others walk away unscathed. Why some children are hungry, sad, and lonely. Why some elderly people are sad, lonely and hungry.
I wish I had the answer for her but I didn't. I don't.
If I was going to guess I would say that if everything was without risk, then we wouldn't need to be here. If everything was a matter of obvious karma then there would be no mystery. If everything went along as it was supposed to then there would be much fewer lessons.
I know for myself that prayer has helped me tremendously and (it would seem) has provided untold protection. The few times that I have prayed and it hasn't worked out I have had to trust that there is a lesson here that is beyond my human scope of understanding but maybe my spirit can gleam some wisdom. Maybe my spirit can grow from the experience and evolve into a better one. Because I believe that ultimately this it what we are here to do. To become better beings. This opportunity to be here on earth has so much potential to benefit us, but the risks are daunting if we dwell on them. A landmine of risks. Trust, Faith and Presence are tools that we can use in the face of tragedy. An understanding that there are no human answers to explain the mystery of being here and the way of our path and the path of others isn't always clear.
I speak these words of, "I don't know" with humility, reverence, frustration, sadness and sometimes even with awe.
The details of my client have been changed to protect her privacy.
As published on http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/07/why-did-this-happen-to-me-the-only-real-answer/
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