Do you believe in karma?

I believe in karma because I’ve watched it play out, over and over, in real life.

The more good I put into the world, the more good seems to come back. The more I try to be useful, honest, and helpful, the more the universe (or other people, or just the way things work) tends to meet me halfway. I’ve also seen the other side. When someone moves through life with selfishness, cruelty, or constant negativity, that energy doesn’t stay contained. It comes back. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes later, but trust me it comes back.

It’s painful watching the news and hearing some of the things that happen to people who never asked for it. Good people get hurt. Terrible things go unpunished for a long time. I don’t pretend that every story wraps up neatly in this lifetime. That part is hard to sit with.

What I do hold onto is this: other people can think whatever they want about you. They can talk, judge, misunderstand, or rewrite the story. That part is out of your hands. What is in your hands is your intention. If you know you showed up with a good heart, if you tried to help, tried to be decent, tried to love, then you’ve done your part. The rest isn’t yours to carry.

Karma, as I understand it from living it, isn’t about keeping score so you can feel superior. It’s about cause and effect. What you put out doesn’t disappear. It shapes the kind of person you become and the kind of life that starts forming around you. You don’t control every outcome but you control the seed.

So I keep planting the same seed. I keep doing the helpful thing even when no one is watching. I keep choosing the cleaner intention even when it would be easier not to. I don’t need everyone to agree with me, I don’t need the world to look balanced every single day. I just need to know that what I sent out was good.

The world can be ugly. People can be ugly. That doesn’t change the assignment. Put good in. Let the rest sort itself out.