“When you truly understand karma, then you realize you are responsible for everything in your life.” (Keanu Reeves)
“A man reaps what he sows…” (Galatians 6:7)
I was having a late breakfast in the early afternoon a few Saturday’s ago at The Original Pancake House here in Toledo, when suddenly a frantic waitress looked out a nearby window and yelled ‘I can’t believe they left without paying!’. I inquired on what happened only to discover that her party of two tables had left her with their $130 bill when no one was looking after over an hour’s worth of waiting on them. I felt sad for her and angry at the same time, but honestly trusted that everything would right itself eventually, because karma sure has a funny way of coming back to haunt a person. When I paid my bill and discussed the situation with the manager, I told her I was sorry to hear what happened but that I believed karma would fix itself through something like those people’s cars breaking down with a hefty repair bill. They chuckled. And why I felt comfortable saying that? Because I have most certainly learned a lot about reaping what I sowed in this life.
How many times I deliberately hurt another for self-gain is probably countless at this point in my life. But how many times those same things came back far more painful down the way is also countless. I firmly believe that all those years I was so selfish with the money I was given led directly to the loss of my former business and almost $700,000 of cash investments. I also firmly believe that the many health issues I’ve experienced over the past decade also correlate to how I treated others in the past. But, on a far smaller level, if one truly pays attention to how things work in this world when it comes to karma, it’s easy to see how things come back sometimes three-fold and more.
I clearly recall times when I bargained for this or that, “nickel and dimeing” my way through something, only to experience things like my own car breaking down or a major appliance going out shortly after. People often don’t see that correlation though because they are spending so much time living out of their ego trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else, often at other’s expense.
Nevertheless, all of this reminded me of the one time I deliberately did something similar in my younger years when I went bowling with a few hoodlum friends. At the end of our time at the alley, they all quickly jetted out without paying, telling me no one was going to get hurt doing so. I didn’t say anything because I was trying to act cool. But I went back later and paid the bill for all of us, because deep down in me I knew then like I firmly accept now within me, that profiting off another’s expense never pays in the long run.
I pray that all who try to profit off the expense of another will learn that what one reaps one sows, and that there is such a thing as karma…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
