An article came across my desk a few weeks ago, and I loved it so much that I printed it out and have adhered it to my wall in my office. Unsure of the originator, I believe I first glanced upon it at www.collective-evolution.com – author is Mark DeNicola, I believe… Here’s the link.
This article features 9 Common traits of happy people that they do not talk about, and as a person interested in the psychology of Happiness, I read it with much gusto. I was happy to note that many of the items of the list I was already attempting to put into practice. My personal favourite is #7: Trust that Everything Happens For A Reason .
It reminds me of a book I once read by Mira Kirshenbaum (“Everything Happens For a Reason”). In it, Mira outlines 10 reasons, themes or rationales for things happening in our lives. I borrowed the book from my mother-in-law, who truly lives by this motto. Life has been good to her, there are many blessings that have graced her life, but also many hardships. This creed has gotten her through many sleepless nights and helped to reframe life’s experiences in a more positive light.
When we ask ourselves “Why did this happen to me? Why did life turn out this way?”, it helps to see the good that has come out of life’s tragedies and unexplained adversities. There is often a gift underlying that which is unforeseen and also not immediately clear when life takes us by surprise. It is as if a lesson lurks in the background, waiting to be revealed. And as individuals, we will all have a different interpretation of that meaning.
It is that trust in an underlying current or rationale for the happenings of our life that can be rather elusive to live out. I have watched my sister chase psychic after psychic, searching for explanations and fortune tales of the future because she couldn’t trust life to unfold as it would on its own. I myself struggle to relax into not have all the answers, in the face of hardship, failures and misfortune. Trust in a higher reason leaves us feeling vulnerable and uncertain, but it positions us to be awakened to a bigger picture.
In my personal experience, ordeals in my life have shown me how to live with a greater sense of purpose. It has left me with a sense of a mission; to heal myself and become the best person I can be, to live a passionate life and in doing so, to perhaps help another to face life’s challenges with strength, grace and even joy. For me, I am in the process of making peace with myself through creating art and it has become my life’s purpose to learn more about how Expressive Arts Therapy can help us connect to the love and caring that resides within.
My hope for you is to find the true meaning for yourself behind the events in your life. Our life experiences can serve to make us stronger and wiser if we choose that pathway.
Tracey Gramm – owner
