Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people or why bad things happen in general? Contrast plays a major role in our lives and we are exposed to it on a daily basis. There is so much we do not want, and sometimes it is right in our face. We are bombarded with negativity from the media and there will always be people in our personal lives that we just don't like or tolerate that much. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well actually, my standpoint is that it is not bad at all. We need everything, the more the merrier. We need to bask in all colours to find the one we prefer.

I often say that I love diversity and that I enjoy all that it brings. Different people and different experiences are what expand our intelligence and forces us to adapt our point of view and broaden our horizons. We can learn so much from being exposed to a variety of things and grow as individuals when we experience new possibilities to expand our knowledge. This sounds lovely when we think about travelling and getting to know different cultures but we neglect the fact that it includes stuff that we do not always like. When we are in those situations, or around people, that we wish we were not, all our love for diversity goes straight out the window and we begin asking those same all questions about why is this happening to us. Why do I have to see/hear/experience this when I don't like it? We even go so far to think that our lives would be perfect if everything was to our liking. I know you had those moments, we all did, with little or big things, when you wanted them to just go away. You saw them as disturbances in your normally happy life and as things that need to disappear or those you have to avoid in order to be happy again. What if nothing has to disappear and nothing needs to be avoided?

We all need to realize that nothing in nature, or in people, is good or bad. Things just are. Our thoughts and feelings define our experiences and attribute them with different adverbs and adjectives and put them in categories of good and bad. Different people have different desires and what seems appealing to me can be repulsive to you. It is in human nature to have different preferences when it comes to almost everything.

Our thinking about any given situation will make us decide and conclude if that situation is something we enjoy or not. Some things will be a great pleasure and some will remain in our minds as painful memories of times that we wish had never happened. Before going into how contrasting experiences are not only good, but needed in our lives, I have to make a point and try to explain that good or bad is just a matter of standpoint and a result of personal thoughts. Even though, we as a society, have agreed on some major things to make our coexistence possible and pleasurable, there is nothing normal, and nothing unnormal. It all depends on our perception and the place we are standing on. Our morality plays a big role in human interactions but if we look at nature, nothing is good or bad, everything just is.

There would be no light without darkens, and no darkness without light. Things in contrast define each other. Even though it is sometimes painful, every experience has its value, and not just the educational kind. A lot of people, me included, often say that every experience is a teaching opportunity and that there are no failures, only lessons. I still stand behind those statements but I will go even further by saying that we need contrast to build ourselves. By having/seeing/hearing/experiencing what we don't want, we learn what we DO want. There are some philosophies and spiritual paths that talk about circular life and balance between being satisfied and unsatisfied with our surroundings and how it is normal to have a cyclic change in our appreciation. If things are going really good, they will get worse and vice versa. Other spiritual paths talk about negative and positive peaks on the curve of our experiences and those that say nothing good comes without at least a bit of bad. There is good in everything bad, and there is bad in everything good. A yin and yang sort of balance.

My opinion on this is somewhat similar to all of those, and yet, with a little twist. Our desires are constantly being born, and they are being born from every situation and experience. We always want to be more. More happy, more satisfied, more... It is in our nature to expand and grow. By our expansion, the Universe expands. By our growth, everything grows. That need is greater and bigger when we are dissatisfied with something. Great breakthroughs have come out of great troubles. We can talk and theorise about this but there are also simple, daily things in our lives that show us how contrast is needed and should be appreciated more often. Every time you taste something you do not like, you are closer to finding out what you do like, and every time you feel bad about something, you are on your path to feeling good because now you know what you want.

Having diversity and contrasting experiences in our lives is a blessing. You should keep your smile on, a genuine smile, and see every experience as an opportunity for your expansion. You are an incredible being, capable of incredible things, and only you are in your way of achieving them. You have all that it takes to be the best version of you. The world is not against you, it is giving you everything its got, showing you everything and providing you with everything. There is truly an abundance of everything. You are the one who needs to sift and sort through it all and find the things that are best for you. That sifting and sorting is a wonderful part of our journey.