The Planets Align

There are a few sayings that bug the shit out of me. "It is what it is", is in the top ten. "We'll have to agree to disagree" is right up there. Until recently, "Everything happens for a reason", was tied for Most Annoying and Dumb and Dumber ... but lately, I've had to take a hard second look at this phrase.

First, let me say that I absolutely do not believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. When I was in high school a guy in my town was minding his own business, driving home from work and a limb snapped off an overhead tree and rammed through his windshield. He was killed instantly. Some insensitive schmucks around town started blabbering crap like, "Wow, he must have done something really bad to deserve that." Really? is that how life works? I don't think so. Lots of bad things happen to good people. And lots of assholes get more than they deserve. The same is true with illness. Many really good people have bad luck. And a lot of SOBs live long, healthy lives.

Now that my disclaimers are out there, new data just in suggest that sometimes unforeseen delays, detours, disappointments and plot twists may not be dead ends. If you keep on truckin', hang in there, take an alternate route and bash on, you may actually find yourself in a better place than even originally planned. It is hard to believe that your envisioned Mecca could be outdone, but sometimes its true. And maybe its even worth the heartbreak and the wait. Maybe. And maybe sometimes when you've been through hell and feel like your guardian angel went out for a very long smoke, the planets align. And maybe you realize that the mass confusion and background noise suddenly quiet, and that the future looks bright. So bright that you've got to wear shades.