Simple beauty.

A question as old as man is, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”. It often seems that the most dishonest, scheming people have everything go their way, while the honest, hard working people can’t catch a break.

I was raised to believe that if you lived a moral life and gave the boss your best effort, everything would be okay. Decades later, I’ve learned it’s just not true. The balance of power in our world seems tilted toward evil, and honest and often naïve people are used by the power hungry dishonest sorts to help them achieve their goals. As long as we are helping them, however unwittingly it may be, we can generally maintain our own lives in reasonably good order. But we are mere tools to them, so as soon as our usefulness becomes questionable, or as soon as we wake up and try to expose their dishonest acts, we find we are quickly thrown to the side like yesterday’s trash.

It’s been said that bad things happen due to Karma, which basically means it’s payback time for some past transgression. But others say we’re being tested by God, perhaps being prepared for some new era of our lives. I’d like to think that’s what it’s all about, but I see so many decent people suffering, and so many others careening from one crisis to the next with no “new era” ever coming, that I have to doubt the validity of both theories.

Instead, I’m inclined to think that evil really is in charge right now. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of good people out there. We’re just not doing enough to keep evil in check, and as a result it grows and grows and attracts more people to it, lured by promises of money, property, and easy thrills. As honest and naïve people, we tend to think that most other people are like us, only to be completely stunned when someone does us wrong. “How could they do this?”, we may ask. The answer is, how could they not? Unfortunately, the number of people who only care about themselves has grown to the point that they are the majority. They don’t care what happens to you. You’re either helping them, or you’re in their way. And if you’re in their way, you won’t be for long.

So what do we do? If you came here for that answer, you’ll leave disappointed. I’m afraid I don’t have the wisdom to help you with this one, at least not yet. But we can be better prepared for the future simply by being aware that not everyone is concerned about you, not everyone is willing to help you, and not everyone is going to do the right thing for you. In fact, they may be thinking about how to steal from you, hurt you, fire you, or leave you right now, solely for personal gain. It’s not Karma and it’s not God testing you. It’s more like a lack of God in them, and the rest of us pay the price.

The worst we can do is to judge ourselves and try to shoulder the blame as if we did something wrong. Just stay strong and move on. And try to be the light in an otherwise dark place.

Great perfection seems incomplete,

But does not decay;

Great abundance seems empty,

But does not fail.

Great truth seems contradictory;

Great cleverness seems stupid;

Great eloquence seems awkward.

As spring overcomes the cold,

And autumn overcomes the heat,

So calm and quiet overcome the world.