Choices We make

Karma Chameleon

This just in: let’s pretend that science has proven that karma is a thing. Your words and actions will influence what happens to you in the future. How (if at all) will you change your ways?

“Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don’t even notice it.”
― Sakyong Mipham

Today is Charity’s birthday. Grandmother has invited lots of people to the party. The house has been decorated with pink, purple, blue and white balloons. The broad central hall with delicate apricot wall looks brilliant with beautiful chandeliers and candles. Petal pink peonies and pretty yellow roses spill out of  hand painted vases on the middle of the tables. Charity’s aunt has dressed her with a beautiful lilac color silk dress with white laces on the neck and lots of frills. Her soft, black hair looks neat in a pony-tail. Charity walks down on the stairs holding her aunt’s hand. There are rows and rows of people smiling, wishing happy birthday to Charity with gifts and hugs. Charity enjoys the cake, the gifts and the games with her friends. At late night, after the guests leave charity sits on a big bed and opens her presents one after another. She opens the last present and it is a book with colorful pictures of different animals. Her eyes are wide with excitement. She wants to show that to the little girl Bela, the daughter of their house- maid. Charity runs down-stair and finds the girl standing  quietly in one corner, close to a big white pillar. Sadness flickers across her face.Charity walks closer and asks.” why are you standing alone? Are you not happy about my birthday? Is something bothering you?”

Bela looks at Charity, tries to smile and says,” Yes, I am happy but a sad too”.

“Why?” Charity asks in a surprise tone.

She tips her head and whispers,” My mom has asked not to say but I want to share the secret. I have not eaten anything from the morning and it is hard to work in empty stomach.At home we ran out of the rice and my mom said that I have to wait until she gets her pay”.

Charity looks at her in surprise  because they never run out of food. Is it possible!  Her heart squeezed momentarily. Her face is washed with an expression that is equal parts of shock and wonder.She runs to the kitchen and begs the cook to give some food and a big piece of her birthday cake on a plate for the Bela. Charity and Bela run to a small room in the right wing of the house. Bela breaks into a huge smile, she slowly turns towards Charity and hugs her tightly.

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Charity returns after her job interview. She is tired of giving interviews.Now her savings are gone. A heavy suffocating blanket of reality begins to sink in. In the parking lot she leans against her car window. This is the beginning of the month. How is she going to to manage it? Today is her son’s birthday and she has not enough money to arrange a party for him. Charity opens her small black purse, a mother’s day gift from her children. She searches inside the purse and gets excited to see a crumpled twenty dollar bill. Joy flashes into her heart. She plans to buy a small gift for her son on her way back to home. A feeble voice startles her from behind. Charity turns her head. A old, frail and bony homeless man in torn cloth stands in a few feet from the car. His face is timeworn and eyes are filled with despair. He looks at Charity but does not say anything. Each part of his body reflects his suffering. Charity opens her purse and pulls out the last twenty dollar bill and gives to the old  man. Her eyes are full of kindness and sympathy. A small smile plays on the face of the old man as he takes the money from Charity’s hand. “Bless Your heart.” He says.

Charity believes in good karma, right action at the  right moment. She is confident about the positive outcome.

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of Motion states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Karma or action can be physical and mental and has the two flavors; positive and negative. It is like a pendulum. The choices and activities that we make are attached to a pendulum which after moving away from us will come back to us.  We have to decide the course of our actions .But you do not have to wait for the out come, it is natural.

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