October 8, 2001
More Than Just Believing
Let me suggest that the bad things that happen to us in our lives do not have a meaning when they happen to us. They do not happen for any good reason, which would cause us to accept them willingly. But we can give them meaning. We can redeem these tragedies from senselessness by imposing meaning on them. The question we should be asking is not, “Why did this happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?” That is really an answerable, pointless question. A better question would be “Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?”
When
Bad Things Happen To Good People by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner
If it were not for turning on the television or the
radio, I would think that September 11th had just been another
beautiful fall day. But as unreal
as it seems at times, the images have a habit of flashing before me with a
reality that is haunting with the power to fill my eyes with tears.
I have special interest in many of the evolving
stories since the 11th which center on the spiritual awakening
sweeping over the United States and other countries. Last July, Fortune magazine’s cover story was, God and
Business – The Surprising Quest For Spiritual Renewal In the American
Workplace by Marc Gunther. He
notes in his article that, “The spiritual revival in the workplace reflects, in part, a broader
religious reawakening in America, which remains one of the world's most
observant nations. (Depending on how the question is asked, as many as 95% of
Americans say they believe in God; in much of Western Europe, the figure is
closer to 50%.) The Princeton Religious Research Index, which has tracked the
strength of organized religion in America since World War II, reports a sharp
increase in religious beliefs and practices since the mid-1990s. When the Gallup
Poll asked Americans in 1999 if they felt a need to experience spiritual growth,
78% said yes, up from 20% in 1994; nearly half said they'd had occasion to talk
about their faith in the workplace in the past 24 hours.” (The link for the
full article is: http://www.fortune.com/indexw.jhtml?channel=artcol.jhtml&doc_id=203106)
If
these statistics are correct and almost 95% of us in the United States believe
in God, then what exactly is this spiritual awakening that is unfolding?
Why has such a horrific event happened to a country where almost all of
us believe in God? Was this God’s
will?
Rabbi
Harold S. Kushner wrote a book titled When Bad Things Happen To Good People
that attempted to tackle the age-old question, “why?” He believes that God does not cause misfortune, but rather
misfortunes “are results of bad luck, some caused by bad people and often some
are just the inevitable consequence of our being human and mortal living in a
world of inflexible natural laws.”
Without these elements of life, humankind would be
little more than actors moving through a scripted play with a predetermined
outcome. That is not to say that
God may not be involved in our lives through offering us signs, serendipitous
events, or even a call to service should we choose to act. It does, however, mean that we will experience directly or
indirectly tragic and painful events in our lifetime.
Bringing meaning to tragedy needs to be done not only
intellectually but also through action. Could
it be that although most Americans say they believe in God, many still do not
live what could be termed a spiritual life?
A spiritual life demands action whether it is through organized religion
or a less formal practice. Since
this national tragedy took place, it has been well chronicled that our citizens
have been aroused to action through giving time and money, blood donations,
attending church in record numbers, etc.
The massive tragedy of September 11th has
moved the masses to action in their spiritual journey.
For many who have just believed, passive involvement is being replaced
with actions guided by their soul. This
miracle has been manifested through the ages each day as individuals face the
death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the struggle that comes from
disease. We just don’t see those
events as clearly as we move through our own everyday struggles.
But now that a very bad thing has happened to so many good people, we see
this miracle of the soul more clearly and together.
With respect, acceptance, and love,
Richard
©
Richard D. Olson and Awaken The Soul, 2001; Edited by Janice E. Olson
When Bad Things Happen To Good People
by Harold S. Kushner, Copyright 1981, Avon Books (Listed
on Suggested Reading page)