Wellbeing

Soul: Do you believe in Fate?

By Alice Grist

Sometimes bad things happen for a reason so try to have faith, says Alice Grist

How often do you hear it said that ‘everything happens for a reason’? All too often we take those words lightly. They are frequently bandied around but we rarely stop to think what they exactly mean. If things happen for a reason, what is that reason and why, exactly is this true?
Well this is something I recently had a bit of a ‘to-do’ with my husband about. He is not so spiritual as me, and when I uttered my favourite phrase, ‘everything happens for a reason’ he was quick to respond with, what about atrocities, death, war, pestilence and all things evil? And yeah, I shuddered, because I don’t want to sound glib. I don’t want to be insensitive. But I do believe that these things happened for a reason too. I am sure that everything always does.

When things happen for a reason in our own lives we may have to sort through a rainbow of grief and trauma before that reason becomes apparent. Sometimes the reason is so magnificent, it cannot be seen for years to come and with much, much retrospect. Sometimes the reason is so lost in a sea of sadness, we simply cannot see it, maybe we never will. But there is always a reason. This life is complex and often chaotic, but holding faith in an underlying order, an unseen order, can render our lives that little bit more comfortable.

Of course, It’s not for me to guess at reasons for horrific events, but whether the reasons affect you directly, or affect the wider scheme of humanity. All we can do is hold out a faith that each of our life difficulties is sent to make us stronger and wiser as individuals and as a species. That faith will be tested, of course it will. But by holding a belief in a greater scheme of things, we can find a chink of beauty and magic in even our darkest days. Spirituality can help light shine through from even the most awful times.

Maybe you need some proof of this. So I encourage you to look to your past difficult experiences and see where they made you stronger, better and happier even. Look to the little things that happen every day, that knock on and ripple out and change the world as we know it. Just this week my husband was suspended from work for something ridiculous. I didn’t panic. We embraced it. I am coming to the end of my maternity leave and he has no holiday left. His paid suspension from work has allowed us to have a last little bit of time together with our baby before we both return to work. I’m confident that he won’t lose his job, but even if he does, I won’t panic, like I said, everything happens for a reason…

Article by

Alice Grist

Author

Alice Grist is the author of three books: The High Heeled Guide to Enlightenment and Prediction Magazine Award Winning The High Heeled Guide to Spiritual Living. Alice’s third book, Dear Poppyseed: A Soulful Mommas Pregnancy Journal, is to be published early 2013 by Soul Rocks. She writes about motherhood, spirituality and soulful living in her own quirky, accessible and fierce style.