The world works in mysterious ways. It seems that at any given moment, there are all sorts of forces acting upon one another which consequently keep the world turning. Sometimes these forces work in our favor, while others make it feel as though the world is about to end. At any rate, it's interesting to observe how these forces come into play in our everyday lives.
When I was in Girl Scouts, the golden rule we lived by was "treat others the way you want to be treated." Otherwise known as Karma. Essentially, your behavior in the present has an effect on the consequences for your future. Do good, and good will come to you. Do bad, and bad will come to you.
It's rather curious why bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. Some individuals can live a modest and humble life, yet, find themselves constantly drowning in misfortunes. Others can live a life full of manipulation and deceit only to find themselves slowly rising to the top, attaining good fortune. It just simply isn't fair.
But why?
Well, it seems no one can answer that question. To ask that question means to first ask whether you believe in free-will or determinism. Free-will states that man is free to make his own decisions; you decide your own fate. Determinism states that your life's path is already pre-determined by some external cause, and therefore you cannot be held morally responsible for your actions.
So it seems then, that Karma becomes a matter of different perspectives.
If we are in fact free to make our own decisions in life, then it seems that consistent behavior should yield consistent results. Almost like a domino effect. If we consciously choose to act one way then that behavior will have an effect on the consequences we receive. We create our own karma.
If our life's path is already pre-determined, then it only makes sense that our consequences are chosen for us at birth. The person we are going to be is already scripted for us too. In that case, it seems as though we could just live life in any which way because what's going to happen to us in the future is going to happen regardless. Our karma is created for us.
In either case, it seems as though the karma you give and receive has something to do with who you are as a person. That just doesn't seem like enough though - surely not enough to explain why the saying goes "karma is a bitch." Occasionally, it feels like it's doing the opposite of we are.
But just like anything, reciprocity takes time - and time does not discriminate. The timeline for which our actions have the ability to affect us begins at birth and therefore ends at death. Life is one big lesson, and there are even smaller lessons from it. Good and bad things come when we're not ready for them, but that's where the learning takes place.
There is a little bit of good in every bad situation, and likewise a little bit of bad in every good one. For instance, getting bad grades in high school may become a setback for the future, but could also be used as motivation to work harder after the fact. Or, the opposite happens. Working hard earlier in life could lead to more distractions later and eventually cause a downfall in success.
Karma is distributed throughout time.
In any case, though, it only seems logical to be a good person throughout your life. It sounds simple, but by the same token, not knowing what could happen to us, as a result, makes it hard to at times. Understandably so too, considering the fact that our consequences could be the complete opposite of the behavior we have exhibited.
By and large, it's obvious to conclude that the forces working for and against us is beyond any human comprehension. Who, What or Whatever we are doing unconsciously to create the future is unpredictable, and forever unknown. So be a good person anyway. Just like Justin Timberlake said, what goes around comes back around.