I've experienced some rather profound shit in my time. Some of said experiences were so beyond what I had come to expect as normal, that I was forced to question my own sanity. Now is not the time to disclose the details of those experiences - but to share with you an understanding that one of those experiences left me with.

Everything happens for a reason.

I was lucky enough to observe something that quite simply cannot be expressed in language, but that left me with the belief that every single thing that occurs, does so for a reason and is leading somewhere that is ultimately good. While I accept that, during the time of this observation, I had lost all faith that the world could be going anywhere good, and so consequently could have deluded myself into the belief that I witnessed something that proved otherwise, I nevertheless have chosen to retain the belief that what I saw was legitimate, and that everything does indeed happen for a reason.

The reason I have chosen to hold onto that understanding, is because the simple belief that everything is going to be okay, is a powerful aid to managing the struggles of life. When you know in your heart and your mind that we as a species are heading somewhere great, and somewhere that all living will be most joyful to arrive at, all the shitty things that happen in your own life become purposeful. They become experiences that you seek to learn something from, rather than occurrences you wish had never befallen you.

Whether you consider it the divine plan of the Almighty, or the collective evolution of humanity, placing your trust in a power higher than yourself, and that the plan is a good one, can grant your life a myriad of rewards. For starters, there is the loss of fear. If you know that nothing other than what was supposed to happen for the betterment of mankind is going to take place, then what happens to you becomes far less important - or very important. Either way, it becomes necessary, and not worthy of fretting over. If you have done some things in your life you regret, or lost people you wished you had been able to hold onto, then the belief that everything happens for a reason, and that everything is going to be okay, is a gift that allows you to perceive your once-mistake as an inevitable lesson and move on to the next chapter of your life, wiser and hopeful to see what comes next. When you have trust that we are on the only path we should be on, and the one that is leading to the best place, anything you see out there in the world that seems awful or difficult to behold, becomes far easier to accept, and your life becomes more comfortable because of it.

Of course, adopting such a belief may be difficult for one who hasn't experienced something to convince them of it. But, I think that humans are pretty good at convincing themselves of whatever they want to, if they try. So, I suggest to you, that if you are going to look out into your environment and seek for evidence of anything - seek for whatever will convince you that everything's going to be okay, and hold onto that belief with all your heart. It will be a most useful armour to carry with you throughout the rest of your life. There's a reason we find ourselves telling one another "everything's going to be okay" at the worst moments of our lives - because knowing it is, will make it so.