Monday, June 15, 2015

An Indifferent Universe

"The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death . . . our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light."

-- Stanley Kubrick

This is a bit of a postscript to my mini-rant on the idea that painful events "happen for a reason."

They don't.

Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. It's not part of some greater plan. It's not karma.

And, in the case of cheating, it's not your fault that your partner betrayed you - and it's not your fault that you trusted that person. You loved and believed someone. That's not a bad thing.

Turns out we can't always protect ourselves from bad things by being good people. We can never completely control what happens to us. But when something unfair and undeserved and painful happens - a death, an illness, a trust violation - we can control how we react.

And, even in the face of a dark and indifferent universe, we can create our own light.

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