By Bernie Bell

There is so much wrong-doing in the world, today, and so much wrong-doing, from the past, coming to light, that people are asking –  “How can these things happen?” And “Where is God in this?”  Who or whatever they see their ‘God’ as being.

I’m now going to try to approach making any kind of ‘sense’ of it.  Ambitious, I know, but, if it helps anyone, anywhere, to get some kind of way of dealing with these terrible occurrences – those that are from the hand of man, that is – natural disasters, are exactly that – then, I just hope it can, maybe, help.

The following words,  are just how I try to approach it. I’m not saying it’s ‘the answer’ – how would that be possible? I’m just trying to present some ideas, which may make sense to some folk, and maybe help them to put some shape to what they see happening around them.

So, trying to approach the “Where is God, when this happens?” questions.

All those …what’s even the word for them?  Terrible, dreadful, none of those words, seem to do for….those….things…which happen.  I don’t see what it’s to do with God, myself.  It’s what happens, it’s us, we’re given free will, and we use it, or abuse it.  Myself, personally, I don’t see that The Universe, is …..to do with those things.  They are part of us, part of life, part of……The Universe, which we, are part of.  But, we do those things, God doesn’t do them, or not do them, or ‘allow’ us to do them, or ‘stop us’ from doing them.  That’s my take on it, put very briefly.  When there’s something utterly wonderful, we thank The Universe, ( or, maybe we do!), but we don’t question that, do we?  We don’t look at a wonderful sunrise/sunset, a baby, a blade of grass, a carrot, which has grown from a seed which looks like a speck of dust, and say “Where is God in this?”  We may say, thank you, for those things but we don’t question why they should be allowed to be.

It’s all part of it………why  question the hard parts, and not question the pleasant or stunning parts?  Work with it, do what we can, LIVE!  And, each person can try to ‘do as they would be done by’, and a lot  less of it would happen, anyway.  That’s my take on it.

The Universe IS, we’re part of The Universe, that doesn’t include making deals with the Universe, or any of that stuff, it just means….living…as best we can, making the most we can, of what we’re given or presented with, whatever that may be.

My most common response to the horrors which un-fold, daily, is “Sign of the Times”.  That’s not dismissing it, or hiding from it – it’s seeing it as a…sign of the times, and, the times, change, the wheel turns, the pendulum swings.  “Sign of the times”, isn’t accepting it, or dismissing it – I think, I hope, not. I think, I hope, it’s just seeing it, doing what I can about it, but not throwing the blame at a deity, or deities, or….anyone else, for that matter.

It’s also a  good song, by Prince.

Not saying it’s OK, not despairing about it, either, ( trying, hard, not to despair), trying to see it, and work with it, as best we can.  Despairing about it, does nothing, except drag the despairing individual, into the pit.  Been there, hope not to go there, again.  Nil Desperandum.

photo B Bell