Karma - K

Karma, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence. Karma - Merriam-Webster It’s become a popular idea, at least among people I know and social media sites I follow, to apply it like a ticking time bomb of paybacks. The variety that tend to be a bitch.

In my blue collar, Middle America upbringing, I was introduced to the idea of Karma pretty early. My dad is something of a displaced Renaissance man. A man of endless interests and an aptitude to learn damn near anything and everything he puts his mind to. I grew up with magazines on astronomy, history and humor right alongside my copies of Wee Wisdom, a now defunct children’s spiritual periodical that focused mainly on being a good person and doing good things as opposed to shoving fire and brimstone down my throat (At least as far as I remember - I may have blocked out anything I found angry or distasteful), which was my mom & grandma’s contribution to the reading material available to me as a kid. The magazines were on top of regular visits to whatever library we lived near and bookcases full of Reader’s Digest compendiums and various fiction and nonfiction tomes on just about anything.

I hasten to point out that my mom and religion tends to be a touchy area. As can happen with some people who have certain varieties of mental illness, her problems could be at their worst when she hit a stage of religious zealot. My dad on the other hand, gave me a very pragmatic view of life, religion, spirituality and such. Which is bringing me back to Karma, I swear.

I asked, at maybe seven or eight, if my dad believed in God. I’d noticed Mom sitting with her Bible on tape when she wasn’t quite herself and my dad’s complete disdain for organized religion. Before I was born and before Mom got sick, my parents were regular church goers who taught Sunday school. A decade plus later, I was curious about my dad’s belief system. Probably because I was beginning to form my own. My dad had always been very vocal that religion was a personal choice that each person and I was finally old enough to be curious to compare notes.

The most important thing I took from that conversation, something that I remember to this day, is that he believed in a higher power. We’d gotten through too many difficult situations and had too many strange things occur for there not to be something bigger at play. I recall, with great clarity, being awed by his answer. My daddy, the guy who I figured was able to hang the moon in the sky, believed in something greater than himself. He just didn’t believe in the people who told other people what they had to believe. Or else. That made a lot of sense to me. My dad can make compelling arguments. He also forgets to turn off lights and would be perfectly happy to survive on meat, potato chips, and homemade baked goods. I never said he was perfect.

As I got older and experienced the highs and lows life had to offer, I started accruing that life experience business that contributes to how you view the world. And I realized, life has a funny way of, shall we say, balancing the scales. In time, Dad would offer, with saccarine glee, to let Karma handle situations out of our control. It actually fits along well with my grandma’s advice, handed down to my mom: put it in God’s hands. It seemed to me that God’s hands were called upon when you were in a difficult spot. Karma was expected to kick in and take care of people who contributed to the situation once you made it through. Admittedly, of a more punitive approach. Old Testament vengeance.

I subscribe to a little more active take on Karma, in terms of trying to put good out in the world. I believe that it’s important, but I’m constantly at war with the snide little devil on my shoulder, with a tone that suspiciously mimics my father’s, urging me to take a walk on the low road every once in a while. Or… like, all the time. Not to say that my dad's a vengeful or low road kind of person. His youth was just a little more colorful than mine. And though I've inherited his temper, he's got a hair trigger when it comes to putting up with other people's bullshit.

I don’t necessarily want to subscribe to a punitive higher being or energy in the universe. But I also don’t want assholes, backstabbers and generally not good people to run rampant with impunity. So instead I’ll keep believing that by doing good (as best I can anyway) and praying for good, that good things will occur. And, as the need arises, a butthole will get theirs and perhaps have a change in attitude.

So be the good you want to see in the world, because the assholes seem to be breeders.