The nature of Karma

One afternoon, a friend called to tell me how a client of hers refused to pay $200 for services that she had provided. After a series of text exchanges and a threat to call the police if she continued to “harass me for money I do not owe you,” because “we never signed a contract,” my friend told me that she would chalk it up to “business lesson learned” and let it go. The very next morning, my friend called me again to tell me that this same client had posted on her Facebook page, “Wtf?!? My car just got towed!!!” Karma was a real bitch to this chick.

One of the most important laws that governs our relationships with each other is the Law of Cause and Effect, also known as Karma. In the Bible, it is known as the Law of the Harvest when it states, “A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7). In other words, if you plant one red apple seed, you will harvest many red apples. If you plant one green apple seed, you will harvest many green apples. You steal $200 from a person and you will pay $200 and more in inconveniences, upsets, and troubles. Because what goes around comes around. But why?

Karma is not punishment, a payment for sin, God’s vengeance, or unshakeable destiny. Karma is the Universe’s natural way of teaching us that our actions of the past affect our present which then affects our future. If you cannot understand how your past decisions have affected your present situation, how will you know what parts of your past you must leave behind in order to make wiser decisions for a better future?

Balancing out the effects of your actions, or your karma, is also not about suffering or enduring. Have this mindset and you will play out the karmic experience either as the victim or the martyr and your suffering will never seem to end. Balancing out the effects of your actions is about your personal learning and growth. Because, ultimately, these karmic experiences are meant to help you guide you in the right direction so that you do not drift off the path of your greatest potential and happiness.

Here is another interesting tidbit about Karma. While your Karma, positive or negative, can be returned to you almost immediately, many times it is not directly exchanged with the person that you must balance out your karma. I believe this is due to several reasons. One reason is that most people avoid taking personal responsibility, in humility, by making the proper apologies along with the appropriate restitution to compensate the person he or she has hurt. This results in the Universe having to take matter into its own hands.

The second reason that karma is not always a direct exchange between two people is to protect the person that the positive karma is owed. For example, if Ms. Rat Thief believed that her car was towed because she ripped off $200 from her vendor, Ms. Rat Thief, in her anger, might do something and lash back at the vendor. Heaven have mercy on the person who intentionally hurts another person out of vengeance with the purpose of feeling better about himself/herself or to cover up a negative act!

On the flip side, when it comes to positive karma, Christ taught the following: “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4). If Christ were with us today, he would probably call creating good karma “paying it forward.”

So what positive karma did my friend receive for learning her business lesson and letting go of her negative emotions regarding the stolen money? Later that afternoon she was offered two big jobs that paid double what she had lost with Ms. Rat Thief. In addition, one of those jobs led her to a gig that brought regional attention to her work. Karma not only has your back, it rewards you for lessons well learned.

The consequences of our actions are instant in the small things and long-suffering in the big things. Nevertheless, the universal law does not change: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So humbly “take your medicine” when you make a mistake and learn from it so that you don’t repeat it. And pay your lessons forward by always doing the right thing.

#english