Everything Happens for No Reason

John Lenon must’ve been quite surprised when he was gunned down in the streets of New York. After all, it was the end, and I’m sure he didn’t think it was okay at all.

“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. ”

John Lennon

Isn’t it ironic that one of the most frequently cited inspirational quotes was coined by someone whose ending completely contradicts his creation?

Why do people pretend there’s a reason for all the shit that happens in the world?

Is it because they’re deluding themselves, or is it because they’re helpless in the face of an irrational, chaotic and dangerous world? Do they feel the need to reassure themselves that their suffering serves a higher purpose?

“When one door closes another door opens”

No Sally, if you lose your job because your asshole boss tried to grope you and you wouldn’t let him, that doesn’t mean there’s a better opportunity waiting around the next corner. It could just as easily mean that homelessness is lurking there.

What Alexander Graham Bell actually said was:

When one door closes another door opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the ones which open for us.

What he meant was that we shouldn’t mourn missed opportunities but buckle up and look for other ones. He wasn’t talking about other doors magically opening and making everything right.

Let’s forget wishful thinking for a moment. Life is hard. Bad things happen all the time.

For no reason.

If you open your eyes, you’ll see that it doesn’t end well for most people. They don’t get a better opportunity in the end. They fight until they die, and that’s it.

The world is full of sad stories: People lose their homes, their lives, their loved ones.

There are wars, fires, floods.

This summer, In the wake of the deadly floods in Germany (see what I did there?), half the world was on fire. Not just the usual suspects, like Russia, Australia, and California. No, other countries joined the dance: Turkey, Greece, Spain. It was apocalyptic.

Crazy religious fanatics are taking over in Afghanistan. They force women to hide under layers of cloth and deprive them of any possibility to live a full life.

4.5 million people have lost their lives to a global pandemic in the last 16 months. Many of them might still be alive if people would refrain from being selfish assholes.

I’m sure you see these things, read about them? Do tell me the reason why this is happening. I hope it’s a good one.

I can’t for the life of me imagine how this is all going to end well.

I don’t see doors opening for the women in Afghanistan. I see the world heating up and the climate spinning out of control while we twiddle our thumbs.

There will be no resurrection of the victims of the pandemic — unless we’re headed for a zombie apocalypse in 2022 — who knows, the shit has definitely hit the fan lately.

I see lives being lost, opportunities being squandered, and dreams being shattered.

“If everyone helps to hold up the sky, then one person does not become tired.”

Dr. Askhari Johnson Hodari

Instead of closing your eyes, sticking your fingers in your ears, and shouting “lalalalala” to drown out the screams, I think it’s time to stop just hoping for the best and start working on it.

To stop all the hoping and extending of prayers.

Let’s reach out and support each other when we see something going wrong. Let’s actively address the problems we see. Let’s stop pretending that there are equal opportunities for all, but demand justice for everyone.

Let’s offer support to the homeless, health care to the sick, and insist on justice for those who’re disenfranchised.

Stop trying to get the best outcome just for yourself. Look at the big picture and think about where we need to go as a human race. Make sure that everyone has a life worth living.

Elect governments capable of doing the right thing. Let women rule the world. Judging from what I see in Denmark, Iceland, and New Zealand, that would really open a new door worth going through.

It’s in our power to change things. Use it so that when things change, you can say that you are one of the reasons they changed.

Previously published on Medium