Why do bad things happen to good people

A friend of mine made a post asking the following two questions below. I wanted to share my response to him.

Why do bad things happen to good people?
Why don’t bad people get punished?

Well, to quickly answer the second question…bad people do get punished.

Most “bad” people have internal struggles. Even if on the outside they look fine they are obviously dealing with something that is negative enough for them to inflict pain or conflict on others. They don’t have inner peace. To go through life without the peaceful content feeling is a struggle, even if you have everything else. So most “bad” people are suffering daily internally.

To address the first question…

Sometimes what seems like a bad thing, can be a blessing. When I had to leave school because of my illness I was distraught. I had a student loan to pay, no job, my health was miserable, and I thought I’d never be able to attend school again. But the situation forced me to look at other options and my life is actually better now, even with my illness, than it was before. I’ve created a life for myself that suites me better. I’m going to school, I’m working and I paid off my loan.

2. Sometimes it’s your fault. Yes I know it sucks to admit it, but sometimes we make mistakes that we could have avoided if we just listened to ourselves. There is a voice that tells you “don’t date that guy/girl” “don’t listen to those people” “don’t go down that road”, but we don’t always listen and terrible things can happen as a result. This is why the past can be your friend. If you live to tell about it, learn from it.

3. Most of what we call “bad things” is just life. Life flows in waves. Sometimes you get nice soft waves. Sometimes it feels like the sea itself is tossing itself on you. You just have to try and deal with it the best you can. Use your resources, talk to people, and remeber that nothing last forever; the problem will pass.

4. We are a bit too tolerant. Good people have a tendancy to put up with crap that they don’t need to. If more people spoke up, half the problems in this world wouldn’t exist. But people stay quiet when they should be shouting at the top of their lungs. If something is bothering you, say something Fix it while you have more control over it, instead hoping it goes way. It’s ok to put up a fight for your own happiness. It’s your life, after all.