How many times have we heard, or even possibly told ourselves,…”Everything happens for a reason”. We usually rely on this phrase when something has happened that is perhaps not desired or expected. We remind ourselves we should never question why something did or did not occur the way we intended, because everything happens for a reason. Everything occurs exactly the way it should and there are some things that are just beyond our comprehension that should not be questioned.
The alternaview:
The alternaview is that everything most certainly does happen for a reason and sometimes there is guidance or understandings that we can gain simply by focusing on what is happening in our lives and working to understand the meaning. It is not that we question “why me?” or ever pose the question as if we are a victim, but, rather that we look to explore the meaning of certain events from a place of complete acceptance. There should not be any resentment for any circumstances that have arisen, but there can be a desire to understand if there are underlying messages or something you could take away from the situation. We really should embrace all of those times we possibly can when there is something that can be understood from the events that are happening in our life.
Granted, there will definitely be a lot of things we don’t initially understand or know what message it is we are supposed to take away. There are those things that will simply need time to unfold until it is time for them to be understood. Perhaps that time never comes. However, there are also other times when it just may be a little easier to connect the dots and allow what is happening in our life to provide answers and guide us in the right direction. These are the times when we should acknowledge that everything happens for a reason, and we should then ask the follow up questions, “What am I supposed to take away from this situation? Is there something different that I should be doing?” At the time, we may not even feel we have any questions or need any guidance. We may feel that we have the answers we need and are moving in the right direction. Nevertheless, we should always make certain we are open and taking note of what is going on around us, because it really is all happening for a reason.
Of course it can be challenging to notice the messages and follow the guidance, when it is not what you want it to be or is counter to what you decided. Sometimes though we have to make certain we are pushing ourselves to see those things we may not want to see because it can be easy to rationalize and justify our decisions even when we know deep down they may not be the best ones. We may want to continue down the path we have been going and are just not really receptive to the idea of changing course. However, if things are happening that seem to have an underlying message or are pushing us in a certain direction, it is important that we pay attention.
When we genuinely want to integrate this alternaview into our life:
We have to always be on the lookout for underlying messages and guidance. We have to make certain we are remaining open minded about what things mean. We always need to push ourselves to make certain we feel deep down we are doing the right thing and that we are moving in the right direction.
We should make certain we are asking ourselves the right questions, “Is there something I can or should be noticing or learning? Are there things that are pointing in the same direction that I need to take notice of? We have to be willing to provide ourselves with honest answers to these questions and be patient if the answers don’t come right away.
We should be open to change our minds and move in another direction. We should make certain we are doing whatever it is necessary to remove any fear or anxiety that may be associated with doing things differently than we had originally intended. What we do know for sure is that everything undoubtedly happens for a reason, and although we may not always be able to answer “Why?” we can certainly choose to learn from situations and receive guidance from those things that happen in our life…this is the alternaview.
Have you ever noticed things in your life that are pushing you in a certain direction? Have you experienced this alternaview?
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