Karma? Depends on what I had for breakfast...

Another thing that's been on my mind lately is the idea of karma. Do good things and good things will happen to you. Hurt people, and the powers that be in the universe will be hurt. Why would we believe this to be true? On a big enough scale, as is said in "Watchmen" by Alan Moore, "Everything balances." But does it really have to? Does it matter how good we are to people to see if the universe will help us? A better question, does the universe actually give a damn?

Now, I'm not out here to go after religion and beliefs in a higher power, God only knows that I've had my fair scare of religions crises and relied on prayer to get me through, so maybe I'm a hypocrite with this post, but I refuse to touch religion with this. Rather, this post is to be a stream of consciousness about how our actions seem to do little to work into a karmic think tank that some people believe governs how things happen.

What ever happened to chance? I missed my train because my shoelace broke and my shoelace broke because it was worn down, not because I didn't give that homeless the quarter I picked up off the ground. If I toss a handful of playing cards in the air, will the ace of spades land face up or face down? Well to some people, it depends on what they had for breakfast. To me, it relies on a number of factors, but ultimately comes down to probability. No one can figure out the universe. If you do, or think you do, give me a call. I'll call some publishers, and we'll write a book.

Because when it all comes down to it, the world is made up of so many variables that what we do, karma or not, has little bearing on what actually happens. I've had my fair share of instances where I feel like something good is offset by something bad is offset by something good. But what about those days where something bad happens, so you assume something good is going to happen? Sounds like a mathematical problem entitled "Gambler's Ruin". It's a belief that if you're on a losing streak, you're bound to win soon. But here's the lowdown of it. The probability of hitting blackjack in a casino is the same as when you were losing 12 hands in a row. Just like the probability that the train will come is the same regardless of how much change you hand to the man in the corner, and how many cards land face up has nothing to do with the type of eggs you had for breakfast.

There is no magical formula for good things to happen to you. It's all about perception. Sometimes missing the train can be a good thing.

-Matt