There’s no call for gunplay just because fate holds you in contempt.--Chief Featherstone, Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
You’re one of the good ones, right? You call your mother every Sunday. You pay your bills on time. You cheerfully put change in the coffee shop tip jar. You’re thoughtful, kind, courteous. A regular boy scout.
Unless you’re Hannibal Lecter, you probably consider yourself to be on the side of the angels. It’s all those other people who screw up.
· When a spider bite puts the evil pet abuser next door into anaphylactic shock, you figure he had it coming.
· When the kiss-ass in your office is reprimanded by the big boss, you rejoice that sycophants don’t prosper.
· When some maniac nearly drives you off the road, and then is pulled over by a cop, you figure A-holes never win.
That’s Karma, baby.
Pay Back From Way Back
Hindus and Buddhists created and spread the belief that one’s actions bring inevitable results. Western philosophers picked up on it to the point where mothers all over the world issue the same warning: “If you continue to make that horrid face, it’ll freeze that way.”
That’d be Karma, baby.
Bad people do bad things, and the universe eventually smacks them down. You’ve probably even said, “That jerk will get his one day.”
What Did I Do to Deserve This?
But wait a minute! I feel smacked down by the universe at times. I unwittingly bought a home at the height of the housing bubble, and now it’s not worth the price of a used Kleenex. I blew out my knees as a runner, and now I can hardly finish a Walking to the Oldies CD.
Evil dictators seem to live forever, and I wonder, “Why doesn’t that bastard just get hit by a bus or a stray bullet?”
It’s funny how we always think something awful will happen to someone else. What about when bad things happen to us?
Is Karma real? Does fate sometimes hold us in contempt?
Today I mocked a colleague’s writing style, and now I can’t think of a conclusion for this blog post.
That’s got to be Karma, baby.
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