New Leaves

The other day a friend and I went out for lunch. As we chatted, we discussed a situation involving a person we both knew mutually who had done things that resulted in people being mistreated. After my friend shared her thoughts on the situation, she made a statement: “Karma is a bitch,” she said. I nodded in agreement and thought, “It sure is.”

As I was leaving lunch, I started to think more about my friend’s comment as well as my thoughts. Karma, being referred to as a bitch, means the person will eventually suffer negative consequences for their poor or bad actions. It suggests that persons who commit bad actions will get what they deserve.

According to my unofficial research, karma is a fundamental concept of Hinduism and Buddhism that represents the universal law of cause and effect. Its meaning signifies that every intentional act, thought, or word creates a consequence that returns to the person, shaping their present experience and future, including future lifetimes (reincarnation). Basically, the term means do good things and good things will happen; do bad things and bad things will happen.

Karma is based on the motivation behind an action; good intentions produce positive outcomes, while harmful intentions produce negative ones. People often use the word karma to refer to fate, but in a negative way, as my friend did. I realized that’s how I thought of karma, more negative than positive.

Renowned Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh views karma not as fate or cosmic punishment, but as the active daily creation of cause and effect through our thoughts and actions. He shares that our lives can be planted with seeds of happiness or seeds of unhappiness. The choice is ours.

As I thought more about it, I realized that thinking negatively about another person or wishing negative karma for others could affect my karma. I decided I needed to create a more positive, hopeful, compassionate mindset. This meant being kind, ethical, and wishing people the best, even when I wasn’t sure if they deserved it.

Instead of focusing on the negative term “bitch” and referring to karma in a negative light, I’ve decided to think of karma as neutral and encourage personal responsibility rather than just revenge. I found a new way to express karma when referring to myself or others. It reminds me that what I put out into the world will return back to me.

Karma is a mirror.