There’s an explanation for why things are the way things are. Sometimes we say it’s “God’s Will”, or, “it’s karma,” or, “it’s down to luck.” Whatever it is we say is the cause, many of us do it without realising how much we rely on it.
Fail at something and we’ll put the blame on some kind of mystical force. And then we’ll ask the same unseen influence to bless us with success. Almost every culture from every period of history has explained destiny in one way or another. It’s in our DNA to blame or thank something we can’t see or touch. We want to believe in something that can influence our lives. And then we want to be able to influence it too — to improve our lives.
Have you got your own take on this matter? There isn’t a right or wrong answer. I promise, your reply won’t ruin your belief because your faith is yours and I’m not changing it. You already believe what you believe for the reasons you believe it. The only thing that matters is what works for you. Karma, luck, one God, or several gods — if it’s true to you, it’s true for you. Tell me your faith and your kind of truth and leave a message below.
“Oh, why didn’t I take a left at that fork in the road? I should’ve gone right instead.”
“I’ve had so much bad luck. It’s about time I had good luck and won the lottery.”
“I’m always dating the wrong kind of person. Why can’t I find someone nice?”
Finding answers to existential questions is common. But then there’s the second half of the equation, that to which we give thanks:
“I’m blessed for having an education and the successes in my life.”
“Karma has brought me good fortune and health.”
“I’m so lucky to have the ability to learn, work hard and raise wholesome children.”
Giving thanks seems like a natural thing to do too.
Some of us spend great amounts of energy giving thanks to the positive influences in our lives. Others will spend the same amount of time cursing the negative ones. Many of us are absolutely certain that our lives are influenced by our prayers, actions or good deeds. If we do right by it, it will do right by us. We’ll find peace and inner happiness based on luck, prayers, or karma.
In the early days of nineteen eighty-five, I dated a young lady who stated flatly that she was an atheist. She didn’t believe in God and was proud of it. She chose to put her faith in karma, instead. She said that all good things come to those who do the right thing for others. The right thing wasn’t defined but the general idea was to be nice to people because people would always be nice to her (nice wasn’t defined either). We parted ways and then I met her many years later. In two thousand and one, I found her outlook on karma to be one-sided. She was adamant that she was entitled to an abundance of good karma due to all the disappointing things that had occurred to her.
Her soon-to-be ex-husband had run off with another, younger woman. Their breakup led to battles over property, money and their child. She had to move states and start all over again. The experience left her alone, afraid, and extremely angry.
Okay, let me reveal something about our connection. She and I were once teenage lovers — and occasional affair partners over the next forty years. That’s how I found out about her sad past.
It enabled me to compare our lives over those decades. I got to witness forty years of change take place in someone who lived by the rule of karma — I watched her abuse it to fit a narrative that suited her best. It was also used to destroy others.
Perhaps karma didn’t fail but succeeded in every way. She was simply misinterpreting what was becoming apparent to me.
All the misfortune she said she received may have been her own doing. It makes sense. If I’m to support anyone’s belief in karma, it’s reasonable to suggest that they are the cause of their bad karma, right? Their actions, words and intentions are all the evidence that’s needed to understand their situation. Karma was simply resolving itself in their life.
But I was still curious about the details of how it all happened — and I’m aware I could’ve been wrong about her — so I wanted to know how things fitted together. If karma was responsible for her present, what were steps taken in the past that brought it this way? I had so many questions. But I didn’t want to be obvious about it.
My part-time lover wasn’t shy about telling me how it happened. Fury fuelled her words. With anger as a weapon, she used it to attack a man I’d never met — and their former nanny. She told me her story many times over and it changed each time she told it. Eventually, she admitted she was violent towards him. She justified her actions by saying he deserved it.
What goes around comes around, right?
I can’t tell if her husband was stolen from her or if he decided to walk out on their marriage. There’s even a possibility she pushed him away. I don’t know. He got to see way more of her than I ever did. I was just an ex-boyfriend from a time long ago. She was never violent around me.
There is more about our part-time forty-year affair written into my novel. If you enjoy stories about karma, passion and romance, you’re going to love it. It’s going to blow your socks off when you find out that a crucial part of the story I left out of this post is discoverable inside the book. You won’t believe it when you read it but when you do, it was real, every part of it. It happened just the way it did in real life! Yes. Indeed it did. Bookmark this page, read the book and look for the bit about karma and the window that faces a mountain. Re-read this post after you’re done and see if it makes better sense.
Leave me a note at the bottom of this page. Tell me if you believe in karma, God’s will, or something else. Let me know your thoughts about what you found inside SEETHINGS.
Five women’s bodies are discovered after the nights of thunderstorms. Their spouses are suspected of the crimes, but it becomes clear that someone else is responsible. There’s no blood and few clues. A storm photographer specialising in taking lightning pictures may be the only witness.
Free For a Limited Time