I never felt comfortable with the idea of ‘it’s meant to be’ or ‘it’ll all turn out for the best’ in response to sad things happening.

While they’re well-intentioned, they imply some kind of divine plan that we just can’t see yet. And implies that the giver of the advice has faith in (or is privy to!) that plan.

Which may or may not be accurate… but it also misses the point.

Whether something’s meant to be is irrelevant. All that matters is that it is.

So comparing it to some other future that might have been is fruitless.

It’s denying reality.

That alternate future never existed, and never could have existed. It was a fiction—a potential future—invented in your mind.

By the way, this absolutely doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel sad when that happens. Far from it.

Just like the reality of whatever’s happening in your life, the presence of the sadness emotion is reality, too, and absolutely shouldn’t be denied.