Did you ever wonder why bad things happen to good people, and how others seem to get away with everything?

What if I told you, no one gets away with anything, and it may be a blessing to get caught.

I once got caught stealing a cassette tape and was taken to the police station.

I was so rattled I promised myself I would never take anything that wasn’t mine again—and I kept that promise.

Years later, someone I knew was caught selling pot, which was illegal at the time, and he too was taken to the police station.

I shared with him that maybe this was a warning, a chance to put all of this behind him.

He laughed and said, “Nah, they’ll never catch me.”

A few months later he was caught selling near a school and spent seven and a half years in prison.

That’s the difference between someone who has truly learned a lesson and someone who hasn’t.

But what about the people who never get caught?

Those people concern me the most.

They may appear outwardly successful—sometimes with, beauty, money, career, relationships—but nothing inside them has changed.

No limits were ever imposed, no reckoning ever required.

Developmentally, they are frozen.

You can’t deeply hurt others—or yourself— without paying some cost to your soul.

In The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn, the author, describes life in prison and what happened to those who sold out: the guards and prisoners who took advantage of others.

He contrasted them with the innocent prisoners.

The innocent, he wrote, often developed clarity, honest self-assessment, spiritual depth, and inner peace.

The others had to fragment themselves. They numbed themselves, distracted themselves with pleasure, and lost inner coherence.

There was no peace.

There is always a cost when we go against ourselves and refuse to learn the lessons life is offering.

I know I’ve always been hard on myself, often feeling as if I’d done something wrong.

I remember one fight with a bully—I had finally had enough and threw a punch that knocked him out.

When we went to the principal’s office, I was sobbing.

I had no idea how strong I was or what I was capable of—and I’m grateful for that. It kept me humble.

So why do I share all of this?

Because if I’m going to help someone, I need to know who is ready.

How do I know?

They’ve learned their lesson.

They are humble.

Teachable.

They’re no longer numbing themselves or staying busy to avoid who they are.

The people who are ready to change are a lot like I was when I was younger.

They’ve had enough.

They’re done trying to outsmart life or beat the system.

They simply want to live integrated, whole lives—and they’re willing to do whatever it takes.

I can’t help someone who thinks they “have nothing to work on.”

But I can help someone whose life looks like a mess—and who is finally ready.

For those people, miracles really do happen.

I feel sadness for those who are outwardly successful but have never worked on themselves.

Their success becomes a cage—albeit a golden one—in a world that worships these things.

You don’t stay young forever.

You can’t keep beauty.

Money doesn’t come with you.

Fame fades.

Everything external fades--and that's how you know that it isn't truly valuable or real.

If it was it would last.

When we discover what truly does last and live for that, we begin to master our lives.

That doesn’t mean rejecting external success.

In fact, living for what really matters only makes external success far sweeter.

Jesus said that if you try to save your life, you’ll lose it.

I think he was pointing to a life built entirely on the external, with no inner work.

It’s a loss—because we are so much more.

If this encourages you to look a little deeper, then it has done its job.

That deeper work is a gift to you and to everyone around you.

And if you need help along the way—or simply want to talk through what you’re facing—feel free to reach out.

Much love and blessings,

Bert

www.bertastacio.com