Did you ever have a time in your life where something seemingly bad happened, but then things turned out better for you in the end?

Sure.

What’s interesting is, we generally have no idea what “good” and “bad” are.

We assign “bad” to things we don’t like, hope to avoid or don’t understand.

If you’re around long enough…and you pay attention….things that we label “good” are often not as good as we make them out to be; and things that we “label” bad are often blessings that point us toward opportunities we might otherwise avoid due to our limited perspective on things.

I was devastated when my first wife left me. Truth be told, I shouldn’t have married her in the first place. I was way too immature. Had she not left, I would have remained in a stiffing situation and not met the woman who would be my second wife.

Not that we want “bad” things to happen. It’s just more productive not to be so quick to assign negative connotations to an event that could possibly lead to bigger and better things.

I agree with what @SABOTEUR has provided here and I have had those moments of not realizing the true value of the good or the bad until after the fact. I have experienced what I perceived to be good that in the end turned out to be bad. Accepting that something bad has happened is when the door opens for something good or better to come into your life. My door is wide open. :)

Yes, we went through a series of financial reverses. But it led to a new career for my husband that he loves.

@SABOTEUR – great answer.

It reminds me of that Buddhist story about the farmer (#6 on this page)

“Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.”

@tom_g I just love Buddhist stories. Thank you!

Many, many times. Here is a story I don’t remember telling before:
When I went new car shopping, an eager salesman knew I was looking for a deal, and asked me what I wanted. I told him the make and model (Subaru GL Hatchback 4 Wheel Drive 1982). He asked me what color I wanted, and I didn’t care. I told him I just didn’t want a Yellow one. (I had seen a yellow one in Tahoe, and it was hideous). He told me they didn’t come in yellow, so I must mean Beige. He wrote Beige on the back of his paper.
A week later, he called me up, and said he had a car exactly as I had asked. I asked him what color it was, and he said beige. I was furious. I told him that was exactly the color I didn’t want. He remembered why he wrote that note, and apologized. I hung up on him.
He called me back, begging me to come look at the car. He said he was going to get fired because of this. He said he could make me a sweet deal. I told him the deal better be sweet, or I was walking. (I never deal like this).
When I got to the lot, he showed me the car. It wasn’t yellow. It was a very nice beige.
He told me he would give me the car for almost what the dealership got it. $5100.
I acted unhappy, but bought the car there and then.
A friend of mine, who I found out later worked as a mechanic at that same lot, told me the salesman did get fired, because the car was sold for only $125 profit. He said the owner was furious, and swore he almost stopped the deal.
I saved a few thou.

I am still walking this earth with a smile on my face,so yes.;)

Yes, my divorce was something that I thought was bad but turned out to be for the best. I’m now married to the person that I should be. I’m still friends with my e as we had been friends in the past; we should have had the sense to stay that way in the first place!

Yep, both @SABOTEUR & @Cruiser said it perfectly!

One door closes and another one opens, and what often seems ‘bad’ is really a good thing.
Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 and often we don’t see that until after the fact. :-)

I had a Ford Escape I had just bought a couple of months before and I was on the highway and was hit from behind and slammed into the car in front of me. The car was $700 from being totaled but the autobody place offered to buy it from me for the blue book value, which was about $3000.00 more than I paid for it. So I made the deal since the frame was bent in 2 places and I would no longer feel safe driving the car. I went looking for another vehicle and found the hybrid version with less milage and a year newer for $1000.00 more than they gave me for the car so. So in the end I got the car in the same color that I wanted and in the hybrid version that I originally wanted due to the accident.

@creative1

Good deal for you!

When I lost my first husband just after our first anniversary, I thought my world had ended. Then I met my second husband and I couldn’t believe I was so lucky. When I lost him 9 years later, I was devastated. Then I found my current husband, 36 years ago, and he is the best thing that ever happened to me, outside of my two beautiful sons and 6 wonderful grandchildren.

Every single thing, really. Aside from deaths, nothing has been so bad that something else didn’t happen to make it all ok.