Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes it seems like the bad things won't stop happening. Sometimes this is related to our personal choices. Sometimes it is related to the choices of others. And sometimes there is no explanation and we wonder why it happened.
A few months ago I would not have an answer, but now I can say that some bad things happen because they're supposed to.
Hear me out.
This does not apply to ALL the bad things that happen. This does not diminish the suffering, grief, or pain that comes along with these experiences or what happens after. This does not mean we wish they didn't happen or wouldn't change them if we could. This does not mean that the days following are easy or that we don't go through the stages of grief and acceptance, which sometimes take a lifetime to accomplish...or not. This also doesn't mean that Life is meaningless and the things that happen to us are random.
Our family has had a challenging year. There was a broken hip, two deaths, and several other emotional challenges to overcome. One in particular made me have this realization that sometimes the bad things are supposed to happen. (Out of privacy for the family members involved I will not name them or describe their situation.) There were medical emergencies and complications, and what should have been a happy occasion turned into one of dread, anxiety, and frantic prayers for a period of weeks. The family member, who is also intuitive, kept asking us for guidance, for reassurance, and all three of us felt deep within us that everything was going to be fine, everything was going to work out fine, it was all going to be okay. The family member even said that they did not have a feeling of dread when they thought about it. Neither did I. Neither did my mom. So when the bad thing happened, the thing we were all afraid would happen, we were shocked.
Why did this happen? Why did we feel like everything was going to be okay when it wasn't? Why did our intuition lead us astray?
But once the shock wore off, we were able to understand the hidden blessings and silver linings. While much healing is and will continue to be had, while periods of grief still wash over us, while we wish we could change what happened, this bad thing has led to growth and healing in other areas, areas that are tied to karmic energies, current relationships, and personal growth. Our intuition had not led us astray - everything was working out like it was supposed to, even though it was in the way the we did not want it to or expect it to.
This is where we have to choose to persevere. When the bad things happen, we can crumple and allow grief to overtake us. Or, we can choose to overcome and focus on the hidden blessings, all the while accepting the pain that comes with it. It doesn't make it easy, but it gives purpose, meaning, and motivation to overcome the grief in order to find a way to once more enjoy life.