The one with why

More than once in our lives we find ourselves asking this question, "Why?"

To eliminate the deafening answer right in front of our faces, we find comfort in questioning the reality of the situation. We lose our own path by making excuses for other people's behavior. Our thoughts wander into the unknown because that gives us a glimmer of hope in our miserable state.

How often do we ask the question "why" to provide us with more than what we should have been grateful for? Yes, it may seem ridiculously insane and constantly addicting to inflict ourselves with pain over and over again but how did we allow ourselves to be involved in an unfortunate situation in the first place?

I wonder, if we removed the "whys", could our lives have been better?

Would we still be in the same career and relationships we belong to if matters have been altered due to the removal of this demanding and thought-provoking word in the equation?

Are we going to live a healthier and happier life by not questioning the reality of it?

One word can indeed affect our entire lives when we think about it.

A professor from Philosophy class that I had in college told me this was the question in their final exams and only one of them got a perfect score. They were asked to answer the question "why" with supporting philosophies learned throughout the curriculum in 3 sheets of paper which includes explanations of each premise.

I never realized the importance of his story until today. 

Lives are definitely interconnected in a million ways and reasons which we will only know once we reach a wiser age. 

At that time, this was simply an amusing story.

Today, the memory came back and this became a life-long lesson.

The only student who slept through the exam only has two words written on his paper. 

"Why not?"

My professor's teacher was appalled and had the student immediately come to him for an explanation.

The student bravely answered that only the question "why not" can counteract the question "why" and for this reason all other premises lose their essence. Nothing can provide a solid argument with why better than why not which is its exact opposite.

Those two words were like a slap to me while my head was spinning with a million questions this evening.

This was the answer I was waiting for all these years. 

Everything that happened to me. The pain, the hardships and all the sufferings I had been through to be where I am today-I have no right to question it because it's reality.

I can either accept it or I can continue questioning myself everyday and not receive the answer I was hoping for because maybe there is no answer that will satisfy me no matter how long or accurate it is.

Thank you for this Prof, wherever you are right now- I owe you one. 

Why not?