in an attempt to soothe my soul (when i was a teenager) my mother used to say

[ThreeNoSeep]

17. God's will, everything happens for a reason, karma is a bitch, etc.

Those phrases are there for more than just making us feel better when the universe hurts us, hurts our loved ones, or when it hurts someone we think deserves it. We have the words to remind us that there is a cause-and-effect chain connecting the photons splashing these letters on your retina stretching back to the Big Bang for everything that happens - from the burning of the Library at Alexandria, to the town drunk winning a $1000 scratch-and-sniff lottery ticket on New Year's Eve, to the tragedy of a car accident. Just as you realized as a young adult, those phrases did not bring comfort as they might to a child, but as we mature, some learn the words also contained a truth about the nature of this experience we are all sharing.
After becoming a recovering Catholic, I still find comfort in the words of Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century English mystic, theologian, and anchoress. She said, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” This does not mean we finally enjoy the end of injustice or sigh in relief because reality will no longer hurt us. Only the dead see that, maybe. Rather, the meaning is that, despite the pain of this singular experience, there is also balance and grace interwoven in this chaotic field of cause and effect.

I wanted to add a Thank You to Hekate for the Pratchett reference (I so miss that gentle knight!)