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It seems perverse to think that major tragedies are for our greater good.
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You almost have to agree to a reincarnation theology or at least an afterlife to justify some circumstances as happening "for the better".
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How could the Holocaust have happened for the better in any other case?
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But in the confines of the lives of people that I have experienced, it does seem that this trite little axiom seems to be true.
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Now that I am cruising toward the downslope of middle age, I'm able to look at a lot of experiences, that I viewed at the time as horrific setbacks. Surprisingly, in light of the ultimate outcomes, it does certainly seem that they happened "for the better".
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When I was younger, it was easy to discern any situation as "right" or "wrong".... "good" or "bad"... "white" or "black". Now it seems very blurred, because of the realization that everything happens for a reason. If everything is really shades of grey, and you move away from wide swinging, judgmental emotions, it definitely is a calmer, more centered daily existence.~
I've found that forgiveness is a powerful tool for your own wellbeing, rather than a sign of weakness.
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I've also come to the clear indication that there is no model way of life, that everybody is festooned with foibles.... in other words.... fucked up. So if that's the case with yourself as well as everyone else, you might as well forgive them for their transgressions towards you. Especially if the very action of forgiving actually strengthens you.
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The eastern religions... Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism... say that "good" and "bad" are really the same thing, and can't exist without the other. The way to Enlightenment, or Heaven, in this cosmology is to seek a center point between good and bad, where you don't celebrate success or scorn failure.
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Easy to say, but not so easy to achieve.
- i reject them voo doo thinkin' chinks, a'ceptin whens I am a the Tokyo Health Spa getting a body shampoo from one o' them slant eyed heathens. I like the green tea, exspecially with some white litnin', chinky style. You can't get er done likes theys does knowin' nothin more than acceptional hoorin' principles.
Maria Rowen said...
For me, this kind of thinking is bottomless (probably topless for Tuna Lips). Maybe the whole good/bad thing is just a well designed social construct to take us to and guide us through our foibles. Who really knows? This earthly existence is so incredible and full of pain and suffering at the same time. It’s hard to reconcile or find balance. We learn at an early age how to mix the colors black and white to get gray. If you are lucky enough to apply that principle to life…maybe that’s enlightenment…
