Is Karma a thing? Can your actions really result in far reaching consequences? Does ‘what goes around, comes around’ actually result in anything happening?
Formally, Karma is a Sanskrit term that literally means “action” or “doing”. In the Buddhist tradition, karma refers to actions driven by ones intentions, which lead to future consequences. Those intentions are considered to be the determining factor in the kind of rebirth one will have in the cycle of rebirth (samsara). When most people use the word karma we think of good or bad luck, viewed as resulting from one’s actions, with consequences experienced in this life.
How many times have you heard or said “karma will get them” only to then wonder where the hell karma is? How about when you feel as though you only put good energy out there, really try to be a positive person and still feel as though your life is in the proverbial toilet. Well I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit after some recent events. I know this isn’t a new concept but maybe, just maybe, karma is constantly working around us yielding us results we aren’t even aware of. I read a great blog (read it here) about how karma is really just habit and how our habits shape our lives. The law of attraction is probably the best way to describe it.
So, you’re travelling though life, navigating the ups and downs in the best way you know how and you wonder, “Where the hell is this good karma? Why is life so hard when I’m doing the best I can?” Now there is no way to ever know this but perhaps karma has had your back countless times. No, it hasn’t landed riches in your bank account or landed you that “dream position” at work or set you up on a date with Mr Wonderful but maybe it has saved you from landing a terrible job. Maybe a relationship break down, as hard as it was, was saving you from a terrible future heartbreak that was to come. Perhaps if you stayed on the same path you would end up in a really dark, negative place. Maybe karma has been steering you in a different direction to the one you envisioned for yourself in order to save you from unforeseen pitfalls along that journey. Maybe your growth (yes we all need growth otherwise what the hell is the point of any of it?) needed to come from the rockier route. On the other hand, if you don’t learn and grow though these hard times you will find yourself continually back in a similar if not the same position. You keep making the same mistakes and wonder why karma (life) is so unfair. It’s an interesting way of looking at it don’t you think?
Photo by James Wheeler from Pexels
Maybe that sounds like a bunch of hoo-ha to some but I really do believe that the law of attraction works. That if you are a good and positive person, striving to do the best you can for yourself and for others that you will be rewarded. Not in the popular “success and riches” kind of way, but in much more subtle ways. Rewards like good loyal people in your life, the ability to continue to learn and grow towards positivity, to have a clean environment for your children and your self to enjoy, a safe place to share your imagination and creative pursuits. Are these small things? No, they are huge! These are the things one needs not to live but to thrive.
Perhaps I strayed from my original subject there but I really do think it’s all related. If karma is really just about habit then good habits, bring about good changes. Positive changes bring about positive outcomes. Life (karma) can throw you a curve ball here and there to make you change course but it’s how we react and move forward from these curve balls that can land us in either a negative or positive space.
So the question of if Karma is a thing or not? There really is no way I can see that it can be proved. That being said, living well with the intention of leaving others, our communities and our environment in better shape than what we found them can only be a positive thing in my opinion. In real simple terms when you do good things it should leave you with a good feeling. Isn’t that really what we’re asking of “karma”?
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