Blessings in Disguise
Many of us maintain a positive outlook on life by trying to picture bad events in the best light possible, as “blessings in disguise.” I actually do this myself, and have found it helpful…since any given event can be viewed in a positive or negative light, why not go for the glass-is-half-full approach and appreciate rather than hate? The origins of the phrase “blessing in disguise,” however, reveal a slightly different angle to this philosophy.
The term was first coined in 1847 by James Hervey in the hymn “Since the Downward Tracts of Time.” The full lyrics of the hymn expound on religious dogma that, at least in my opinion, contrasts with the whole “view the glass as half full” approach to life. The hymn explains that, since all events good or bad are carefully ordained by God as elemental parts of His plan, we should accept all events with gratitude as blessings even if they are not particularly pleasant to us.
This post may brand me as a heretic, but forgive me for not subscribing to the Hervey system of logic/belief. A coldly calculated murder is just as distressing as an accidental killing, if not more so. I’m not going to be thankful for a bad event just because it was planned and intended, even if the planner/intender happens to be the ultimate higher power in the universe. I wouldn’t take comfort in the fact that I had terminal cancer because God consciously willed me to get a fatal disease. I find it easier and healthier to see that bad events are in the nature of the universe, and there is often a silver lining to them, even if not readily apparent. Some may see this as splitting hairs or wordsmithing, but to me there is an important distinction between Hervey’s view and my own.
Here endeth the lesson on blessings in disguise.
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