This evening I have two stories to share. Both of them are simple tales of the law we call Karma.
In the first story, a woman of advancing years had a job she hated. All her life she wanted to be domestic, take care of her home, paint and enjoy a quiet life. So, she decided that when she was old enough to retire she would. And she did. She moved onto her sister's property in order to keep her expenses low. She lived off a tiny social security check every month. She stayed home most days. In the mornings she read spiritual texts and then she went into the kitchen and meditated on the trees that were outside her window. After that she painted for most of the day. At night she ate in front of the TV watching movies until she fell asleep. She got up the next day and did the exact same thing. Sometimes, she would have disagreements with her sister, but then she would come back to her home, do the things that she had waited her entire life to do and forget about it. As it turned out, this woman was also a smoker. She was diagnosed with emphysema, but continued to smoke. People in her family scolded and warned her that she shouldn't. She would say, "I'm 65! I enjoy smoking. Let me do what I want."
One day, the woman's story ended. The sheriff treated her death like a crime scene and did a thorough investigation. His findings were that she was alone, looked as if she passed away peacefully and concluded that the cause of death was "breathing problems." She was 73 years old.
In our second tale, a young man visits a swami to learn the secrets to making his dreams come true. The conversation went this way...
The swami asked, "What is it that you want?"
The young man stated, "I want to be rich!"
The swami asked, "Do you study finance?"
The young man answered, "No."
"Do you study the stock market?"
"No."
"Do you have a savings account."
"No."
The swami looked the young man in the eyes and said, "You do not want to be rich."
"But, I do," the young man insisted, "I want to be rich!"
There is a huge difference between these two stories. The only thing they have in common is karma. Every thought we think, every word we speak, every action creates karma. Karma is simply the law of cause and effect. It's not good or bad, right or wrong. Put simply, as we sew, so shall we reap.
In the first story, the woman understood that she wanted to stay home, paint, keep her peace, watch movies and smoke. She never said that she wanted to be rich or healthy. She visualized what she wanted her life to be about and then she took action to create the life she wanted. It was not the life others wanted for her, but it was her choice.
In the second story, we have someone that clearly does not know what his life is about. No god or guru can give him what he thinks he wants. In most cases, people who want to be rich work hard to earn it.
So, I leave you with these questions to reflect upon: What is your life about? What do you do every day? Do you like what you are doing now or would you like your life to be different? What would you like your life to be about? Are you willing to make the changes it takes in thoughts, words and actions to live the life you want? Or, if you are not willing to make any changes, could you be happy with your life exactly as it is now?
Namaste,
S.