Karma: "Everything happens for a reason"

Have you ever stop and think why you are what you are now? Have you ever think why you can't solve a mathematical problem? Have you ever think why you are not very creative?

Have you ever think why your friend is better than you? Have you ever think why your friend score a better score on a certain test?

"Everything happens for a reason," and it's true. The simple example is that we get hungry because we don't eat. We get thirsty because we don't drink. But is that all? Surely not. If we are looking from a simple perspective, surely we will make the same answers as above. However, if we were to dig the question deeper, we will see more answer! Why was he or she hungry? Why didn't he or she eat when he or she was hungry? Dig the question deeper!

There are many cases of cause and effect. Let's look at the most common cases...

"What we plant is what we get."

Imagine you are planting an apple seed. After some times, the seed has grown into an apple tree! Of course it will not grow into a banana tree, a pineapple tree, or even an orange tree.

Now, about our bad score. Why do we get bad score? To look at it from many perspectives, there will be many answers. But, the simplest perspective is usually because we didn't study hard, or we didn't study at all! Just like the apple seed growing into an apple tree, our action will determine the future! Because we didn't study a certain subject, we don't get a good score. Because we didn't do something good, we don't get something good.

Turning all 'bad-turn-bad' situation into 'good-turn-good' situation. If we study hard, we will gain something: knowledge. This knowledge may help us on our test, and it will help us getting a better score. Now, what if we do something else? What if we train our body so we can type without looking at the keyboard? Of course, we will be able to type without looking at the keyboard, and it might give many other benefits. Of course we won't see the benefit overnight.

Just like the apple seed growing into an apple tree, there is a process. Our action will have an effect after sometimes. If we skip a meal, we will have less energy and feel hungry later.

"Then what if it is biological?"

The concept of biological here, I believe, is something we got from when we were still in our mother's belly. It's true that biological problem is another case. However, we can also look at it at a different perspective. Let's take the seed and tree case. Now, you got an apple seed. After planting it for sometimes, the seed had grown into a small and fragile bud. Then, you learn that the bud wouldn't grow into a fine tree! Now, would you blame the seed? Would you give up?

Well, if it was just growing a seed into tree, we can give up easily. However, what if it's your life? Life is not like that. Even a seed is different from the other. Yes, we can say they are apple seeds. However, we can also say that we are humans. We are peoples. We are different from one another, just like those seeds. One apple seed is different from the other apple seed. Will you give up and give in to your fate? Will you take your own life? 

Let's look at the famous disabled, Mr. Nick Vujicic.

While we may not know how his life was exactly, we can see his smile now. His smile is a very happy smile. Now, can you make a smile as happy as that? Yes, you can. Accept your life and you will be happy.

Now, before we go into the next point. Think about Mr. Nick's parents. Did they throw him away? Did they abort him? Did they...murder him? No. It's not his parents life. It Mr. Nick's own life. Mr. Nick got to choose how he should live his life. The same goes to us. We should choose how we should live. Even with a lot of weaknesses, we should be at least happy that you still have our life! Remember, what we do will affect our future. If we stay negative, we will not be happy.

"I don't need this lesson!"

While it's true that we sometimes hate a certain subject, it doesn't mean we must hate learning them. Now let's look back at the first point. Why do we hate that subject? Is it because of the teacher? Is it because your parents force it to you? Or is it because you don't understand it at all? There is no such answer like, 'I just hate it.'

We hate something because of a reason. For example. A child hates meat because he or she had a meat that was hard to eat. A child hates greens because the child had greens that was either too green or too bland. Although the real case is not as simple as this, we can learn that children hate something because of a reason. Now, do they tell the reason why? If they were to tell you, would you listen to them?

Sometimes, it's not that we hate something because 'we hate them'. We hate something because something had happen in our past. Sometimes we don't want to share because we had shared to someone who force us to repeat that bad experience again! Now, can we blame the one who force us? Well, we can't. Do we know the reason why he or she force us?

Let's get back to the apple tree. Do you know why the apple tree grow healthily? It's because it was watered everyday. It's because it got fertilizer. Now, for those who eat organic food, you probably know that sometimes fertilizer is made of manure. The manure helps the plant grow better.

However bad our experience was, we still need to try it again. Who knows it might be more fun than you thought? Who knows it might be useful later? Just like Mr. Nick Vujicic. We don't know how many bad experiences he had felt. However, those probable bad experiences had turned him into a wonderful man! We must not blame our present condition. Instead, we must look for a way to improve our present condition! That way, we will get something useful.

"You own your own karma."

It is actually a Buddhism teaching. You own your own karma.

Now... If I didn't study. Who decided it? Me. If I skipped my meal. Who decided it? Me. Who will get the effect of not studying and skipping meal? Me. See? Don't blame someone else because something bad happen in your life. Remember, it's all because of yourself.

---

Conclusion:

Life is always a complex process. We learn many thing, and sometimes what we just learned contradicted with something we had learned before. Probably, what I write contradict each other...

However, looking at the cause and effect, we can say that we meet so many cases in our lives. Depending on our choices and actions those case will lead to a certain result. Let's stop and think for a while. When should we do something good? When should we do something beneficial? The answer is now. We should do something good or beneficial now! Who knows you will get the effect sooner than you expected?

Even if you did something bad in the past, it doesn't mean that you must stop doing something good just because you already did something bad in the past. You live in the present, and you are living for the future.

---

My apologize if it was too sensitive or if I said something wrong.

Hope this will be useful,

Luce