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The Day I Rethought Karma
Not as punishment, but as clarity
Somehow, somewhere along the way, the word karma became a cheap punchline for us to use. It becomes a petty wish for revenge. It becomes a quiet “serves you right” dressed up as wisdom. People throw it around as if it is a cosmic scoreboard, an instant delivery service for justice that exists purely to punish those who have wronged them. Hurt me today, suffer tomorrow.
That seems to be how many believe the universe works. But that has never really been what karma is, at least not in the way I have come to understand it.
Karma is not an enemy you send after someone when you are hurt or angry. It is not a lightning bolt waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Karma follows quietly, almost invisibly, not to punish but to teach. It is the slow accumulation of bad or good choices and intentions that shapes who a person becomes over time, rather than correcting a single mistake in a dramatic moment. People somehow misunderstand karma because they want it to be fast. They want the universe to move at the same speed as their stirring emotions.
But karma is patient, and sometimes frustratingly so. It works in years, not moments. It responds to what sits beneath our actions, not our passing impulses.
