stuff happens for no reason

Warning: your beliefs may be challenged by this post.

It’s time for a short but powerful existential conversation. How many of these situations have you or someone close to you experienced in the last 6 months?

lost a job  |  car broke down  |  class was cancelled  |  flight was cancelled  |  didn’t get the job

And did the words ‘it happened for a reason’ come out of your mouth to explain the event?  Do you believe that things happen for a reason? Do you think the universe sends you situations to teach you specific lessons or to keep you out of harms way? Do you think the universe is guiding you to make that left turn instead of the right? I challenge you to think differently. By following the belief that things happen for a reason, you are relinquishing power and responsibility over your own life to unknown forces.

Accept that absurd and unpredictable things happen and they have no reason – they just happen. Your car doesn’t stop working because the universe wants you to stay home today. Your flight isn’t cancelled because your karma is keeping you from going to that business meeting in Boston. These are random events. Accept it – stuff happens. By accepting that things happen for no reason, you are accepting responsibility for your own actions and you retain the power over your life.

The meaning that is assigned to these events comes from you – not the universe. You choose whether it is positive, negative, or neutral. My challenge to you is to take responsibility for your thoughts, responses, and actions. Accept what has happened. Choose your thoughts. Take action with purpose and meaning. Move on! There is not a force that is working for or against you.  You own your life.

Stuff doesn’t happen for a reason, but it does happen. What is important is what you do after it happens. Will you control your thoughts and actions or will you use the powers of the universe as an excuse for not living life your way? The choice is yours.

‘One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.’
~Eleanor Roosevelt