When Bad Things Happen

When bad things happen to people, they often ask the question, "Why me?" I., too, have found myself in the situation. September 23, 2009 was a day that changed my life. I was involved in a motor scooter accident that left me hospitalized for 3 1/2 weeks, and then bound to a wheelchair for another two months. I am now just learning to walk again without crutches or cane.

While in the hospital, I had a total of four surgeries; one on my left wrist, and three surgeries on my right leg. I had fractured my left wrist, and shattered the tibial plateau of my right leg. Amazingly, even though my helmet was shattered, I sustained no head or spine injuries.

My most recent surgery was just two weeks ago; I had arthroscopic knee surgery to remove torn cartilage from my right knee. At my postoperative examination, the doctor told me that he had done all he could, and that it was now up to me as to how long and how much use I would get out of my knee before having to undergo a complete knee replacement.

And here's the frustrating thing. There is no one to blame. The cause of the accident was that the rear tire blew out. This is a tire with less than 1200 miles on it with no cracks damage or other reason for blowing out. It would be easy to say "Why me?"

I have never felt such intense pain. It is said that when you reach your pain threshold, either the affected area goes numb, or you pass out. I was blessed with neither of these occurrences, and remained awake and lucid up to the moment they took me into the operating room. I would never, never wish this kind of pain on another living creature. And so now I find my self asking the question, "Why not me?"

Nobody wants bad things to happen to them, and yet it is in the difficult, even life threatening trials that we discover who we really are. We find reservoirs of strength, determination, and hope that we have never tapped into before. My body, and its capacity has been reduced, but my spirit has been enlarged.

I don't know that there is an answer to the question of why bad things happen, but they do. And in this moment we have a choice. We can choose darkness and the abyss, or we can choose to rise above mentally and spiritually. The problem is, no one can make this choice for us; even if we are surrounded by loved ones, we are alone with our own spirits and minds. The choice is ours alone.

It has been said that we live in a world of chaos. But that is not true. There is a cause for every situation, for every event, there is a reason. This is not to say that someone is to blame, because often there is no one to blame. So in asking the question why do bad things happen, we must recognize that they happen for a reason.

I believe that we as human beings have the capacity as individuals, and as an entire species, to overcome and enlarge our souls when faced with tragedy and disaster. We must recognize that suffering is part of the human experience; a very necessary part.

Without suffering, we would never know how strong we really are. Without suffering, we would not have opportunity to grow. When life is easy and there are no challenges before us, we weaken and become less than who we really are.

Nobody wants bad things to happen to them - not even me. But when tragedy strikes, as it inevitably will, choose to be more, choose to rise above - choose greatness. Decide now that no matter what happens in life, you will survive, that you will rise above; that you will not quietly go into the night. Yours is a legacy of human endurance. It is your right, and your liberty to rise above.