by Don Kindred

In each of our lives we know people struggling, often unjustly, 

fighting madly against, or calmly accepting, some unforseen disaster 

or yet another merciless disease.

Why do bad things happen to good people? I don’t know. 

The question has been asked since the dawn of time.
Preachers and philosophers have tried to answer it for just as long.
No one knows. 

I don’t understand why it always surprises me when I hear about 

someone new.

 

None of the rhetoric about the calm seas that await after surviving 

the storm seem to help. A New York rabbi named Harold Kushner
once observed that "All we can do is try to rise beyond the question
'Why did this happen?' and begin to ask the question 'What do I do now ... ?'"

I think he was on the right path.
I feel for all those trying to make sense of life, or get beyond a tragedy.

Our lives are not defined by what happens to us, we have no control 

of that. It is how we react to our circumstances that ultimately
defines our character. 

From what I've learned, we must try to make our contributions 

worthy of our benefits. We should live like we'll live forever, love like 

we'll die tomorrow … and make every effort, to enjoy another trip around the sun.