Karma is the “Butterfly Effect”. It is the belief that what you do and say affects everything around you on a cosmic level.
Those that believe in reincarnation therefore also believe that your karma effects who you will come back as, in the next life.
The important lesson to learn from the concept of Karma is that it isn’t really all about you at all (as far as you as an individual is concerned) but it has to do with “all things”, or the “universal you”.
Karma is a philosophy of understanding and realization that “life effects life”.
If you know your actions cause an imbalance or pain, and those actions, in return, come full circle and affect your own happiness, then you will be more careful in both word and deed.
When things go horribly wrong in one’s life, we often look to “karma” and question why we are being punished, therefore neglecting to take responsibility in the choices we have made and the decisions we have taken and the cause that has lead up to the effect that we now sit with.
“A short story tells of a man who sees an old shoe in the road. It reminds him that he needs a new pair of shoes, and, subsequently he decides to drive to the nearest shoe store. While there, he meets the woman he will marry and have three children with. To the man who threw the old shoe out, it was merely a useless item that cluttered space in his closet. However, to the man that met his future wife at the shoe store that day, it was one of many occurrences in his life that led to a legacy of love, children, grandchildren and so on”.
This is an example of true karma.
This is not to say that we should go out and throw away our shoes in order to create happy marriages for others, but rather it is an example of how many seemingly small, insignificant actions can have monumental effects on the world and others around us.
Just for today, take responsibility of your thoughts and actions and know that every action no matter how small plays an important part in the process of life.
