Life is all about cause and effect
Posted on 15th January 2020 at 07:55
There are some clichés which have stood the test of time and bear repeating. So, that’s exactly what we’re going to do this today. That life is all about choices.
Some are made consciously, others unconsciously or by default. However, regardless of the method used and whatever was done – or not done (!) – there are ALWAYS consequences. Sorry, but it’s true! Welcome and less so. Large or small. Immediate or seeds sown far into the future.
Despite this, it seems that many people find it difficult to link the choices they made at some time in the past, with whatever they’re now experiencing in their lives. In other words, the cause and effect.
Not surprisingly, this can lead to a feeling of powerlessness. That things are happening to them. Or, worse, that life – for some reason – is out to get them. “Why does this always happen to me?” A downward spiral quickly develops.
Why is this? Well, there are a variety of reasons.
Sometimes, the person concerned simply wasn’t aware of the choice they were making. It was done without any conscious thought or by default. In other words, they did nothing or dithered for so long over what to do, that circumstances overtook them…
Perhaps it was out of habit. Something they’d done many times before without any ill effects and so didn’t stop to consider whether it would be the case this time.
Maybe, they were simply doing what everyone else was doing. Following the herd. Never stopping to think about whether it was the right thing to do for them. The time old lemming approach to life…
Or, perhaps it never occurred to them that there would be any consequences of their actions – or non action.
Sometimes it’s simply down to the passage of time. The gap between the choice being made and the effect becoming apparent. For some reason, human beings seem to have all too short memories…
Sadly, this is one we all too often see with Clients. Despite the warnings, people seem to give no thought to the potential long term effects of poor lifestyle choices. Or are happy to turn a blind eye, thinking it won’t happen to them. And, they can always find someone who has done exactly the same thing for many years, without any ill effects.
It’s not until many years – or decades – later that the consequences start to become all too apparent. While it’s always possible to take positive steps to help improve the situation, the longer it’s left the harder it becomes…
Sometimes there’s no clearly defined or direct link between the cause and effect. A led to B led to C and so on until the effect currently being experienced. Again, this is something we often see with Clients. A series of small, but poor, lifestyle choices slowly built up over time to cause problems many years – or decades – later.
This is one of the reasons there’s so much talk about karma. It’s as though there’s something unpleasant lurking around the corner, ready to catch the unwary. And that’s without introducing any religious overtones to the conversation…
However, without digressing too far, this isn’t what karma is about at all. Karma just means the results of a person’s actions or inactions. In other words, it’s all about cause and effect. Positive and negative. Welcome and unwelcome. From things we’ve done or not done.
So, while karma can be negative, it can also be positive too. But here’s the rub. Often the effects – the karma if you prefer – doesn’t come from the same source. And this is why it can be so hard to trace the link between cause and effect. An easier way of explaining this is the old saying “what goes around comes around.” Or, what you put out comes back to you…
If we look at karma in its broadest sense, it’s simply stating a very obvious fact. That everything we’ve done – or haven’t done – from the moment we were born until the present moment determines how we are right now. And the life we experience.
The problem is that, as many people live their lives on autopilot without any conscious thought, it seems as though they have very little control over it. This is why it can seem so random, so “unfair.”
The good news is that we can change this at any moment. By starting to become more aware of the choices we’re making as we go around our day, it’s easy to move away from the impact of negative karma. After all, karma is really about taking control of our lives. Deciding how we want to live it, while being aware of the effects our choices are going to have on ourselves and others.
And there’s some even better news. As soon as we start to become more aware of what we’re doing, much of the negative karma simply falls away on its own.
While it may seem over simplistic – or, perhaps, stating the blindingly obvious (!) – life is ALL about cause and effect. It’s the glue that holds everything together. Regardless of whether it’s big – or small – immediate – or far into the future – there is ALWAYS an effect from everything we do – or don’t do.
So, does this mean that we have to start analysing every little thing that we do – or don’t do – in our lives? Try to anticipate every possible effect of our actions or trace back the cause for every effect? Of course not.
While it makes sense to carefully think through the larger actions in our lives, there’s a quick and simple way to determine the likely effects of things we usually do on autopilot each day. And that’s to start noticing how we feel at the mere thought of them – or as we do them.
Does merely thinking about whatever it is feel genuinely good – give a deep down “glow” – or does it feel furtive or “naughty” in some way? And what about as you actually start to do it? This will give you an instant clue of its likely effect. On you AND those around you. It really is that simple.
As always, the choice is yours.
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