Everything Happens For A Reason

12-02-2002

i think that line of thinking is just like religion... its primary purpose is to provide comforting and convenient answers to very difficult or unanswerable and often very painfull questions. its a way of finding some sort of closure where otherwise there could not be any.

Austrian psychologist Viktor E Frankle created a branch of psychology based on theories of mans basic need for some sort of meaning in life which he used to explain a lot of what motivates us as people to push forward and survive. It also applies to death and tragedy. People are driven to find meaning in death as well. How do you rationalize the unthinkable? No one is real hip on considering the finality of death either... and certainly no one is fond of being reminded of their own mortality daily, much less that of those they care about and love.

i tortured myself for years by the fact that i was very easily able to accept my mothers death when i was 15. of course it was a huge emotional event for me but i never told myself those same things that everyone else was at the time... "shes in a better place now" "it all happens for a reason", "its all part of a grander plan" etc.

I really believed that she was killed (by a drunk driver in a car wreck), that these things happen, it can happen to any of us at anytime and that is just a fact of life. i was really devistated by the loss but i always felt it was really unhealthy to lie to myself about it as well. I also remember how everyone around me suddenly got religious. How suddenly there was a God, a Heaven and Hell. How suddenly everyone believed. I remember thinking how strange it was. But then again, they were able to accept it in their own way and explain it all away and eventually be comfortable with the situation. i however, tortured myself for years because my little computer like brain, would not let me do that.

it made me realize that ignorance is truly bliss. why be burdened with such complex philosophical, moral, theological and scientific questions? why needlessly fold under the crushing weight of all of them combined when they crash down on you in an unexpected tradgedy?

and who is happier in the end?... the person who can explain it all away with ease and be happy and content? or the person who cant?

12-02-2002	#4
-= JR =- Guest Posts: n/a	i think that line of thinking is just like religion... its primary purpose is to provide comforting and convenient answers to very difficult or unanswerable and often very painfull questions. its a way of finding some sort of closure where otherwise there could not be any. Austrian psychologist Viktor E Frankle created a branch of psychology based on theories of mans basic need for some sort of meaning in life which he used to explain a lot of what motivates us as people to push forward and survive. It also applies to death and tragedy. People are driven to find meaning in death as well. How do you rationalize the unthinkable? No one is real hip on considering the finality of death either... and certainly no one is fond of being reminded of their own mortality daily, much less that of those they care about and love. i tortured myself for years by the fact that i was very easily able to accept my mothers death when i was 15. of course it was a huge emotional event for me but i never told myself those same things that everyone else was at the time... "shes in a better place now" "it all happens for a reason", "its all part of a grander plan" etc. I really believed that she was killed (by a drunk driver in a car wreck), that these things happen, it can happen to any of us at anytime and that is just a fact of life. i was really devistated by the loss but i always felt it was really unhealthy to lie to myself about it as well. I also remember how everyone around me suddenly got religious. How suddenly there was a God, a Heaven and Hell. How suddenly everyone believed. I remember thinking how strange it was. But then again, they were able to accept it in their own way and explain it all away and eventually be comfortable with the situation. i however, tortured myself for years because my little computer like brain, would not let me do that. it made me realize that ignorance is truly bliss. why be burdened with such complex philosophical, moral, theological and scientific questions? why needlessly fold under the crushing weight of all of them combined when they crash down on you in an unexpected tradgedy? and who is happier in the end?... the person who can explain it all away with ease and be happy and content? or the person who cant?