Karma

Karma. It's eveywhere, all at the same time. It's on tip jars, whiteboards, commercials, and even ski gear. It's an accessible concept, one that to most, seems like an idealistic figment of the imagination used as a synonym for the golden rule. Yeah, even 10 year olds kids can vaguely grasp the idea that their actions have consequences. To Western society, the concept of karma seems pretty cut and dry, sitting on the same level of feasibility as Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. However, to devout Budhists and Hindus, karma is a never-ending cycle of spiritual cause and affect. According to wiki, Karma is: "(Sanskrit: कर्म kárma (help·info), kárman- "act, action, performance"[1]; Pali: kamma) is the concept of "action" or "deed" in Indian religions understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle called saṃsāra) originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist philosophies.
In these systems, the effects of all deeds are viewed as actively shaping past, present, and future experiences. The results or 'fruits' of actions are called karma-phala."

Through my own personal experiences, I can clearly see how so many people are unquestioning believers in some sort of karma system. Personally, I feel that certain quirky things happen in such a way, at unexpected times, that the happening was too strange to be a coincidence. Perhaps it's only a placebo effect from the misplaced pride that stems from the seventy five cent tip at the coffee bar. I guess it doesn't really matter, because the end result is the same. In my own life, the concept of karma keeps me consistantly striving to do my best and achieve to my full potential.