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© Jacquie Wise - Coach, Counsellor, Speaker, Trainer and Author, specialising in personal, professional and spiritual development (www.wiseways.com.au)
Is there a Higher Purpose to Tragedy?
The tenth anniversary of 9/11 reminds me to reflect on positive outcomes of tragedy and senseless. If we take an objective view of painful events, a positive purpose seems to emerge.
That takes trust in a universal plan that is causing us to evolve, even if our part in the grand plan is painful. It means opening our hearts to what we have come into this life to do, and being willing to do the best we can, without bitterness and anger, for the greater good of all concerned.
At this stage of our evolution, we still need problems before we're moved to action. Slow as it might be, we are becoming more pro-active, as we realise the consequences of our actions and inactions—those times we should have acted and didn't.
Some tragedies bond families together, some transform life directions and shape personalities and attitudes, some are the catalyst for people discovering a spiritual strength to lean on. One family's trial and how individuals handle pain has an unseen influence on someone somewhere else, causing them to change something about their own life. Some tragedies lead to changes in laws or in facilities available to communities, or contribute to the push for medical discoveries or political solutions.
Rather than focus on the sorry state the world is in, let's manifest a better future by focusing on the positive outcomes so far.
September 11
The horror of violent attacks leaves us all devastated. And yes, the attack on the Twin Towers spawned fear and hatred in some. But there have been other, more positive consequences as well.
We were so moved by the stories of the last-minute phone calls people made to their families before they died, we've realised the importance of telling loved ones daily that we love them. We've learnt to show our appreciation for one another a little more.
Instead of leaving it all to politicians, we individuals are looking for ways we can contribute to the peace effort. After September 11, we are all the more conscious of the importance of spreading tolerance, and of acting with justice. It's up to each one of us whether we allow all those deaths to be for nothing, or whether they will serve a purpose and motivate us to do something different, in the way we live our lives, in the values we teach our children, and the way we generate warmth and integrity around us.
Natural disasters
Global warming, droughts, salination, earthquakes… all are pushing us to find ways to build a sustainable future.
Disasters bring nations closer together as we set aside differences to help one another in times of crisis.
Individuals who demonstrate courage and spirit inspire others.
Starving millions and global imbalances
The plight of starving people is raising our awareness of the imbalances our materialistic way of life is creating. Those wide-eyed undernourished children are forcing us to question the sense of dumping excess goods into the sea instead of shipping them to those in need. The more we question, the more we'll be likely to find the right answers. International aid is increasing—we're pulling together more than at any other time in history.
Pop stars are investing their fame, time and money to raise public awareness, raise funds, and influence world leaders, whether for aid to Africa, or to save the Amazon and its indigenous people
Corporations are now keen to be seen to have a social conscience. CEOs are judged on their philanthropic activities and philosophies. It might be a PR stunt in a few cases, but it's creating a momentum that's becoming the new norm.
Individual tragedies & challenges
Actor Christopher Reeve, who was best known for his roles as Superman, was paralysed in a horseback riding accident in 1995. He died in 2004 from heart failure, but not before he took up acting again, in his wheelchair and with his breathing apparatus. His death is a tragedy for those he left behind, but his life was a triumph. Reeve used his fame and money to get spinal chord research moving, and he succeeded. Before Reeve, it was considered there was not much hope for sufferers of spinal chord injury. Reeve demonstrated that there was hope, and he changed the approach of medical experts.
The same might be said of Michael J Fox, who is the spokesperson for Parkinson's disease, using his fame to raise funds for research.
Pop singer Kylie Minogue sparked a 60% increase in mammography appointments in Australia alone when she came out with the news about her breast cancer.
Paul Newman, who lost his son to a drug overdose, donated all the profits from his bottled sauces and salad dressings to fund drug prevention and rehabilitation programmes. That young man's anguish and the family's pain was not in vain.
For each famous name, there are millions of quiet achievers who are unsung heroes.
There have been lobby groups, associations and foundations established by people who have experienced some pain and are channelling their energy into making constructive changes. The list is endless. All soul contracts in action
The ripples go much farther than you realise.
Certainly, we can't control all the things that happen to us, but we can control our response to them. We can drain our power with a 'why me' attitude, or we can choose to respond in a way that gives us power, by accepting that this experience, however painful, has a purpose. We have a choice as to whether the chance to change will be wasted, or whether the experience will lead to personal growth and a better way of living.
Wise Words
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realise they were the big things.
Robert Brault