I ended the
February letter with what I called a Random
Interesting Quote: “The future is just a whole bunch of what you do right
now strung together.” It is also an
apropos opening to this month’s letter.
I used this
quote because I liked it and it seems to be true. If you have a vision for your future, your
behavior in the here and now influences that future. It is always the here and now. So, if you want to be thin, eat properly and
exercise in the here and now. If you
want to advance at your profession work in the here and now to efficiently and
effectively get things done.
This all can be
made more complex by including education, talent, aptitude, attitude, fate, and
luck. But, the basic concept is
simple. What you do in the here and now
has consequences. This is also a basic
principle of karma.
I never have truly learned the
basic karma lesson. I am not sure what
the basic karma lesson is but I get the occasional lesson to remind there is a
lesson and that I do not fully comprehend it.
It has been long enough, that I am fairly certain I will probably never
learn. But, the lessons keep on coming
with unpredictable irregularity. Today,
I got one of those lessons, maybe two.
Nah, I am sticking with one as they are related.
I had three successive meetings
today at 7:30 am, 9 am, and 11 am. The
first two were networking groups; the third was at a client. I was on my way from meeting two to meeting
three. I was futzing with my phone and
for some reason not yet using my Bluetooth ear bud. The sun was in my eyes and I instinctively
slowed down. The car behind me was
tailgating me. When she had a chance she
swerved like she was passing and slowed down to my speed. When I glanced over, she was had her left
hand to her ear like a phone, her head was moving like a comical bobble head
doll, and she was mouthing blah, blah, blah.
OK then. Then, after she was sure
that I had seen her, she pulled in front of me and slowed down. That did not make me happy. Infant that I am, I pulled in front of her
but maintained my speed. In my rearview,
I could see that she was still doing the phone thing. The rear window of my 4Runner tinted but… it
is a power window. I lowered it and made
an obscene gesture; the only one people actually use these days. She kept at it and so did I. I sped up and she slowed down and that was
the end of it. She turned into a speck
in my rearview.
I did not give another thought
until I get to the client and went to retrieve my iPad from my briefcase. It was not there. Really?
I thought maybe, actually I hoped maybe that I left in on the seat of my
car. I went out to look. Nope, not there. I called Paul at whose offices meeting
number two had taken place and, yes, my iPad was there. I could not get back there today to retrieve
it. Paul offered to take it home where I
could pick it up tomorrow. As he lived
about an hour away from me, I opted to just retrieve it Monday from his
office. I actually chose to go a weekend
without my iPad. Wow. I did sense a little playful karmic
slap. OK. I figured I deserved it for my boorish and infantile
behavior.
I had another appointment downtown
after the client. On the way home, my
iPhone just died. It just went blank and
black. I could not turn in on which, of
course, I tried like fifty times. I
plugged it in to the car recharger and again… nothing. Come on man, my karma infraction was not that
bad.
There are several ways to look at
this.
Karma vs. Probability: Is
this really Karma, God, or the universe teaching me a lesson? Or is it just chance? What is the probability that my cell phone
dies? What is the probability that I
would leave my iPad someplace? What is
the probability that both happen on the same day? After all I am a statistician. We are supposed to study chance events and
see if the events are rare or not. Let’s
assume there is a 1% of each of these events occurring. The probability that they would both happen
on the same day is around 1 in a thousand.
That actually seems about right once in three years or so. So, is this chance? Karma? Both?
Having both left and right brain,
I would say it is both. When did the
rare event occur? It happened on a day
when I needed to be reminded of how to properly behave as a human being (per my
own definition of course). I might
argue that I need to be reminded of that on a regular basis making the event
not all that rare.
Relative Karma: Earlier I
noted “Come on, my karma infraction was not that bad.” I flip someone off, who might have been
partially deserving of such, and my iPad is magically and mystically removed
from my briefcase and ethereally transported to form whence I came. Then my cell phone dies later in the day. Was this lesson so important? There are murderers and drug dealers out there
who could most definitely use karmic lesson or ten. OK.
Maybe they are beyond redemption and the universe doesn’t waste its time
trying to help them help themselves.
Maybe, they get karmic lessons but it is just they are so intensely bad
they do not even acknowledge the lesson.
You would think that politicians
might benefit from such. Everyone in the
Senate, where they cannot seem to pass a budget, ought to go a weekend without
their iStuff. Let them suffer without
text messages. Let them have to wear
watches because they cannot use their cell phones as watches. Let them have to suffer without Angry Birds
on their iPads.
Maybe
others do not believe in Karma in this world and so nothing happens. That would explain the Hitlers, Talaats, and
Stalins. If I flipped someone off and
suffered through a weekend without my gizmos, these other guys should have
suffered from excruciating painful skin eating viruses. Their transgressions were far worse than
mine. If karma really exists, I suppose
their karmic payback will occur in the hereafter or upon reincarnation
depending on what one believes happens after death.
Why me? Why not me? If one is a valid question, the
other is equally valid. Perhaps,
everyone gets these lessons but only some of us actually pay attention and note
them. The better question may be why I
am paying attention. Why am I paying
attention? Why am I noting these kinds
of occurrences?
What the heck is Karma: This
probably should have been done first.
Wikipedia defines karma as “the concept of "action" or
"deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and
effect.” Dictionary.com has four
definitions. The version that best
approximates the way I have been using it here is: “action,
seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this
life or in a reincarnation.” I suppose when I do not act in a way I deem
as appropriate or proper, there are inevitable consequences. There have been enough examples where I
could actually buy into this.
The
way I think of karma is that emotional inter-relational bank account (thank you
Stephen Covey). One is advised to work
toward a positive balance. This happens
by behaving well and treating others well.
Others will, mirror your behavior when they deal with you. Overall, you will have a positive karmic
balance in your emotional bank account.
If you actually pay good deeds forward, the positive balance will
increase.
On the
other hand, rudeness breeds rudeness.
Despotism breeds hatred in the general direction of the despot. These behaviors result in a negative karmic
balance.
I am
Armenian. I tend to believe in and focus
on the negative consequences only. Behaving
well is the status quo. It is
neutral. In other words, I do not have
the same evidence that the “pay it forward” model works for me in any positive
way. It just keeps me out of trouble. I only notice my emotional account when I
behave badly or rudely. Case in point what
happened today that is causing me to go iLess this weekend. Perhaps, karma only exists if a person
believes it exists and then only in a way they believe it. I find it easier to buy into the “if I behave
rudely, the universe will do something to remind me.” I rationalize this to a combination of
Armenian negativity and inherent guilt.
Religion and Karma: Ah yes, I have to
touch on this. Karma is an eastern,
Buddhist, mostly Indian concept (I am feeling good about being able to freely
admit my ignorance). Karma is kinda
close to fate. Fate is not a concept
that I fully accept. It is a touchy
subject in all religions.
We
invoke fate when we cannot explain something, usually bad, that we cannot
explain. We invoke fate by calling it
God’s will.
Maybe
there is a complex combination of chance, karma, free will, and God’s will in
this life. If this is the case, no
wonder it is so confusing to the vast majority of us that prefer one
dimensional versus four dimensional explanations.
Humor in Karma: I do not
mind these karmic lessons because there is a certain amount of humor to
them. The lessons certainly give me
something to write about. My
transgressions are idiotic and the lessons get the point across with no real
harm especially if I do not let me ego get too involved in all of this… which
again is part of the lesson.
It is very likely that I will get
some emails regarding this posting. The
emails, which I will assume are well intentioned, will try to help me
understand the right religious perspective.
Some will want to help me correctly understand what karma really is from
the Buddhist and Vedic perspective.
Others will wonder why I proselytizing for something other than whatever
religion they devoutly believe in. This
will both humor and irritate me because I am proselytizing anything here. I am playing.
I am musing and I am most certainly meandering (as no doubt will be
noted by Ara Topouzian).
The part that will be most
humorous to me is the few emails I get will be proselytizing themselves. But they will shed no light at all on chance, karma, free will, and God’s will in this life.
There
are men and women who have dedicated their lives to explaining this all in the
context of philosophy and theology. One
thing that I have experienced is that no one can easily explain how this all
meshes. Invariably more structure and
complications are created to make this square peg fit into whatever round
religious hole they are trying to jam it into.
It is theological quantum physics.
Maybe
it just is. God just is. Chance, karma, free will, and fate may all be
part of it in a constantly changing probabilistic model that I will never ever
comprehend.
With
the kind of chance, karmic, and fateful lessons I just wrote about. I see elements of whimsy in the cosmic
design. I admire that. I find a degree of comfort and peace in that.
I was
able to survive a weekend without either iPad or iPhone. Imagine that.
The funniest thing about all of this was the last twist. Before trying to repair or replace my phone,
I plugged it in once more. This time,
the third time I tried to recharge it… it actually recharged giving the
impression that all along the battery was simply drained.
Closing: When looking up the quotes on karma, I found
half of quotes coming from movie and television celebrities. I can see how karma can appeal to folks in a business
with such a high level of politics and so many emotional ups and downs. I did not include any of their insights here.
This
is not the first time I wrote about this.
In June 2005, my monthly letter was Karma
Koncerns. One thing is clear after
reading that older letter and re-reading this one… I am a very slow learner.
Karma Kwotes
How people treat you is their karma;
how you react is yours.
~ Wayne Dyer
You can't connect the dots looking
forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that
the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -
your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down,
and it has made all the difference in my life.
~ Steve Jobs
When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him.
When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.
~ Confucius
~ Confucius
Like gravity, karma is so basic we often don't even notice it.
~ Sakyong Mipham
From Greg Postian:
ReplyDeleteMark,
I have the answer. It is called “The Three Door Theory”. There is no such thing as fate or karma. Everthing that happens is the result of the choices you make. Every time you make a choice/decision, you change the potential future choices/decisions that you have to make or results that will happen (your choice changes the future choices you have, you pick a door and three new doors (choices) become available. Your future choices are directly impacted by your current choice. You lost your IPad b/c you chose to attend a meeting, which created the opportunity for you to lose it. If you hadn’t decided to attend the meeting you might have went to another meeting winning a big account, driven on a different street and gotten a traffic ticket or stopped by a grocery store and purchased a winning lottery ticket. Everything happens because of free will. You can decide that you have free will either because God gave it to you (i.e., the apple) or because our Darwinian brains have had a few million years to evolve to afford it to us.
Yogi Greg