In a recent workout at a hotel gym, I put my wedding band in an interior pocket of my clothes to save it from getting scratched.

Two minutes into my exercises, I checked to make sure the ring was still there.

It was not.

Surely it had fallen beside the bench? Or under a nearby machine? Or rolled farther away?

When those searches were unsuccessful, I began to panic. I began to look in places where it seemed unreasonable for the ring to have fallen. I looked in illogical places too.

And of course, I checked the small pocket at least three more times.

After five minutes, beneath my breath, I asked, “Why is this happening to me?”

Another few minutes later, I found it. The ring had fallen into the liner of my clothing. I was exceptionally relieved.

But then I reflected upon my previous thought: Why is this happening to me?

It wasn’t happening to me. It was happening, yes. But there were no forces behind it. The world was not conspiring against me. There was no meaning behind the temporary loss, the frantic search, or the joyous discovery.

It was all just happening.

Sometimes, we try to form a narrative around events when there is none.

But even though the world isn’t “teaching us a lesson” in these moments … we can still learn from any situation.

Learning requires the student, but not always the teacher.