For a Reason?

I hear people say "Everything happens for a reason." My usual response to this- when I chose to respond instead of just nodding politely, was that things happened, then we made reasons out of them, whether those reasons were good or bad. But I was thinking about that, and about the idea of predestination and free will, and a question occurred to me: Everything? Really? How important does something have to be to be "for a reason?" Is there a reason the ants built their anthill three inches away from the sidewalk instead of two or four? Is there a reason that Velma Sue bought Wonder Bread instead of Rainbo at the grocery store? I left my ironing board and iron in my kitchen instead of putting them up the other day. Is there a reason for that*? Is there a cosmic, theistic reason why person X down the street from me is a meth addict, hasn't eaten in a week, and may ultimately end up a brain damaged mess, wandering the streets grabbing at the meth mites they see flying around**? Yes, motivational speakers, there's a reason you suffered spinal cord damage by driving drunk/diving into shallow water. You made a bad, unsafe choice. And this assembly sucks.

I had this conversation with my mother, while I was at her house and we were watching a story about a mountain climber who was left by his party because they thought he was dead. Another climber came along and found that he wasn't. "After the break, find out if Whozit decided to save Whatshisface, even though it would end his Mt. Everest climb."

Mom: I'd have to save him. I came along at that time for a reason. Somebody, somewhere wanted me to save him.
Me: So what about the people who abandoned him? Did they leave him on the side of the mountain for a reason?
Mom: No, they're just terrible people.

It's hard to win a debate when other people keep trying to change the rules to make themselves feel better.

This post isn't as coherent as I'd like it to be. It may be edited in the future. I just wanted to get the idea into words and out of my head.





*Yes. I am lazy. Bad example.
**Note: I don't really know if anyone down the street is on meth, but I like the odds.