An Ode to Karma

Sometimes, very few, precious times, people get exactly what they deserve.

Oh Karma, my old friend. Sometimes I hate you. I cry out to you when I see things happen, both good and bad, wondering, "where are you now?" But then, out of nowhere, you show up. Wonderfully, you reward my long-suffering dad with a few comforts on his journey. A heartfelt compliment, a perfect ending to a frustrating situation, a glimmer of hope in a dark moment, and even a check in the mail. Less wonderfully, you deliver things not-so-pretty to those who have earned them as well. Like the woman that blocked rush hour traffic to make an illegal U-turn, and the motorcycle cop, weaving between idling engines to see her just in time. Yes, retribution came in the form of flashing lights that afternoon. And others, who have mindlessly rearranged the lives of others to their benefit, causing me to yell out in exasperation, "don't they know you can't have it all?" To risk incurring some bad karma myself, I will avoid repeating them. But I know. And this smile on my face is owed to you, Karma. You deserve it.
In a life in which we so often wonder how bad things happen to good people, or why bad people seem to be rewarded while the good suffer, and we wonder when, if ever, these people will get what is surely coming to them. We have to trust that, whether or not we see it, they will all be dealt with, in one way or another.

Sometimes people get exactly what they deserve.