When things happen, do they happen for a reason?

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
First of all, for something to happen there must be a cause or a reason for it. Secondly, if you relate to things happening for a reason such as a coincidence or a chance encounter with someone or something leads to the question of predestination.

Example; of all the people in the world I believe my wife and I were meant to be together. Technically I don't know for certain my wife and I are meant to be together but it is only circumstance I am familiar with. But that doesn't mean it is the only possible scenario given the complexity of life and human nature that could change the model and circumstances by which we live today.

If things happen for a reason, why do so many of us, myself included, complain?
 

I believe in Karma and I believe things happen for a reason.
Just as one person says "if something bad is going to happen it will happen to me."
Or, another says " I've always been lucky."
I always feel life takes me where I'm supposed to go and all the things in my life, good and bad, brought me here and now.
 
hearlady said:
Or, another says " I've always been lucky."
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C'est moi....when my late wife died my oldest/best friend, (of some 55 years now), said "Something will turn up for you..it always does"...and later I met 'the love of my life'.

(Even when bad things happen...I got run over by a large truck in Ottawa about 12 years ago...but I wasn't killed.....thus far things have never been as bad as they could have been....thus far.)
 
Our brains are wired to make sense and fill in the blanks the best it can. Often we interpret this as destiny or meant to be so we make up narratives to feel better. Although we have some control of future situations, such as saving up for rainy day, I don’t believe in any kind of predetermined destinies.

The fact that something good or bad occurs maybe the results of our decisions and how we act upon them, but sometimes, stuff just happens that’s out of our control. Then the only control we have is how we act upon those things.

I think life is just a crap shoot and it’s what WE DO with that given. I think you got a lucky roll with your wife and you both made decisions to take advantage of it. Good for you!
 
Everyday we are bombarded by countless random events. Most don't amount to squat. Some of those random events open up opportunities, but they don't happen because you needed opportunities. Yes, cause an effect do come into play; The reason I graduated from college is because I took the time and effort to get there. But there is no reason to believe in predetermination or destiny, other than you want to believe in it. But whether you believe it or not, you will continue to be bombarded by random events and be exposed to situations. Some will lead to good things. Some will lead to bad, but most are too insignificant to be of importance.
 
Gardenlover said:
I think it comes down to perception, the glass is half full vs half empty mentality.
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I never draw a conclusion, I just say its half a glass. However, if it's being filled then I say it's half full. Conversely, if it's being emptied then it's half empty;)
 

When things happen, do they happen for a reason?​


There is no proof for a yes or no answer to this question. There are just to many variables

I prefer to believe things happen and you deal with it.
 
Believing things happen for a reason probably requires a lot of confirmation bias. Given the huge amount of data and situations we encounter, some are bound to appear meaningful. If those are the ones you focus on, you may conclude they happened for a reason. However, if you look at the whole picture, what you will see is a lot unimportant meaningless gibberish. But then do somethings happen for a reason? Well, maybe, but there is no way to verify that opinion.
 
I think there are laws of physics, which govern when things wear out, a crash happens, etc. But, is there some great cosmic source that's causing you to get out of bed at 3 AM to go to the bathroom to fulfill some grand cosmic plan? No.
 
hearlady said:
I believe in Karma and I believe things happen for a reason.
Just as one person says "if something bad is going to happen it will happen to me."
Or, another says " I've always been lucky."
I always feel life takes me where I'm supposed to go and all the things in my life, good and bad, brought me here and now.
Click to expand...
I also believe what we tell ourselves can be self-fulfilling prophesies 😃
 
I believe that life is a game of chance; a flip of the cards or a roll of the dice. Nothing is fair. Some die at birth others live to be a hundred. Some are homeless while others live like Bill Gates and that Eldon Musk guy.
 

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”​

Reinhold Niebuhr AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN
 

When things happen, do they happen for a reason?​

This can be a little hard to wrap your head around. At least it was for me. Very interesting though. The act of observing may have a bearing on what happens. Reality may not be what we think it is.

In quantum mechanics the term observer effect means that the act of observing will influence the phenomenon being observed. See the link below for more information.

/ The Observer Effect /
 

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