Bad things happen to good people.
Nothing bad ever happens to good people.
Bad people have more fun in life.
Good people lead boring lives.
People who have lived through hard knocks have lots to teach.
Good people leading boring lives have nothing worthy to teach.
Do what you like with the thoughts I threw at you, but please make no mistaking about how beautiful life is. Your Life is Your Greatest Enterprise, and when you build your emotional house on solid ground, you come to understand why everything happens for good reasons — you come to see the Miracle.
***
I set out to write a different blog post today, but to my amazement, this is the one that resulted. I will not ponder on the mechanism of how this came to be but trust that a force bigger than me is leading the show here. Humble as it came out, this article wishes to encourage; asks that you pay attention to where you are today, for though things might look as if they’ve lost all luster, there’s still plenty to be grateful for.
Start by looking at your life, and then check out the three examples I’ve chosen: Rumi, Sharon Stone, and Henry David Thoreau. Do you know about them? After this article, you will, so I hope you’ll read through to the end.
Rumi:
The well-renowned poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi was an Islamic dervish and a Sufi mystic affectionately known as Rumi. He’s no longer with us, but he was a great spiritual master whose wisdom is broadly accepted and respected across borders today. I happen to believe that everyone has heard or read one of his inspirational quotes on life and subjects that speak to us humans. Verily, verily, his discipline and work have influenced other artists, and his wise words kept many sane.
Upon doing a little research, I’ve come to understand that until age 37, Rumi was a religious teacher. During this age, he met Shams Tabrizi, a wandering dervish who soon became Rumi’s mentor. In three years, the two developed a close friendship that changed the course of Rumi’s life. But their friendship ended abruptly when Shams mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again.
Rumors blight facts, and it’s rumored that one of Rumi’s sons murdered Shams out of jealousy. Devastated by his loss, it is said that Rumi used his pain as the inspiration to write beautiful mystical poems that revered his lost friend and mentor.
Rumi’s work continues to resonate with vibrancy on reflections on nature’s beauty, ideas, and feelings for centuries now. His poetry centers on experiences typical to humans– good or bad he makes us appreciate life.
Sharon Stone:
Actor, model, film director– active since 1980. A fun fact about this living legend, Stone, is that she was considered academically gifted as a child and entered the second grade when she was 5 years old. You can read all about this amazing human from the free encyclopedia on the web (link above), but the points that I wish to highlight for you — the reason why I include her in this shortlist, are in this short video. Do click on the video, dear reader, and get to know this resilient woman whose life story is testimony to the title of this article.
Henry David Thoreau:
Through his famous quotes, I first heard about this American naturalist, essayist, poet, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist. Later, I realized that he is best known for his book “Walden,” a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay “Civil Disobedience,” an argument for disobedience to an unjust state through his famous quotes. Here are a few I chose for you:
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.
“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.
“Live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
“Live in each season as it passes– breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
Did you know?
In 1837, Henry David Thoreau graduated from Harvard and searched for a teaching job. He was hired for one in Concord. Two weeks into the job, he realized that he wasn’t the strict disciplinary type expected of teachers of that time. He resigned.
He remained in Concord.
Because of this, Thoreau had the chance to meet Ralph Waldo Emerson and became the older man’s disciple, as fate would have it. Due to this mentorship and friendship, Thoreau began writing nature poetry, and how he became exposed to Transcendentalism.
***
Were any of these three people good people? Or bad, fun, or boring people? Think about it– does it really matter? No, it doesn’t. But if these people hadn’t experienced a shift in perception about things that happened to them– and shared with the rest of the world, none of us would be talking about them today.
The point is, what happened to you, what didn’t happen to you, good or bad, isn’t everything there is to know about you. The answers to difficult things you’ve unraveled so far are no more important than the questions you still haven’t asked.
Bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people too. What matters is that you appreciate this one precious life that has been given to you and that you choose to use it to the best of your capabilities. Not so that Wikipedia can write about you but because you know that life is beautiful.
Everything happens for a reason.
If you haven’t yet arrived at your imagined life, look around. Your mentor might just be that person you bump elbows with at the coffee shop every morning. If not a mentor, perhaps a soulmate.
Get rid of distractions.
Simplify.
See what you’re meant to see.
In the three examples, people needed to overcome hardships and get rid of distractions to see what they were meant to see and be who they were supposed to be. The world is full of people like them, but I hope this lineup has put you in a place where you come to see that there are reasons behind everything that happens to you in life.
I don’t know you– yet. But I want to. Please stay in the light and get me one step closer to hearing about you. And when I do, you can be sure that I will tell it on the mountains, over the hills, and everywhere.
My role in this message today was to point out these examples to you. Life is beautiful, and everything that happens to us happens for a reason. Here’s looking at you.
Goalcast Video Share: https://youtu.be/JsUIFQK6dyA
Mail photo: Image by Frank Winkler from Pixabay
THANKS FOR READING.
I Wish You Miracles.
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Selma,
What a beautiful post! It’s meant to be shared.
Thanks for commenting and saying so, Dianekrausewriter. Thanks for the wonderful support. Be well. I wish you miracles.