I grew up in Detroit in a little neighborhood a few blocks from my school. Parks and even the dime store, was also in walking distance. I could ride my bike to the movies for a double feature, on Saturday afternoons and all I was responsible for was to be home by dark!
At those times, my family lived very close to each other, and I saw my aunts, uncles and grandparents at least a few times a week.
I can remember going to a farm with the family to pick tomatoes, cucumbers, and the family canned lots of food so we had homemade tomato sauce and pickles all winter.
One day I was home alone with my younger brother; we were not even in our teens yet; I guess you could leave young ones alone back in those days. We were hungry and decided to open up a jar of pickles.
In the jar was a red pepper, and I knew it was hot; so I told my little brother that it was mine. However, he was quick to the draw! He grabbed the hot pepper and stuck it in his mouth and then the heat hit him! His mouth was burning and I thought it was hilarious as he gulped down a big glass of milk, to quell the heat! LOL!
Now let’s jump ahead 25 years.
I was living in Colorado and went to Detroit to hang out with said brother for a few weeks. I always stayed with him when in town. The previous time that I was there, I broke up with a girl whom I would see on my visits to the Motor City, but this time I was avoiding her like a rat. LOL.
I was getting dressed for the evening, and about to meet up with some friends to enjoy some of Detroit’s hot Jazz clubs.
I heard a knock on the door. Low and behold, it was that old flame of mine, that I was avoiding like poison ivy!
She said, “I heard you were in town and wanted to surprise you!” It was a surprise for sure!
She was the last person on earth that I wanted to see, as my night was planned out and she wasn’t a part of it at all.
I told her that I wasn’t feeling well and was just going to rest up for the night and couldn’t invite her in.
Soon after she split, my friends come over and I was out for the evening. I remember getting home around 3am and my brother was still up with a big grin on his face!
I asked him how my Ex knew that I was in town and all he said was, “Remember the hot pepper bro?”
We both had a good laugh about it!
Maybe it wasn’t instant Karma, but it was Karma nonetheless!
Things always catch up with you sooner or later. It can come in different forms, but will follow you around wherever you go. We have to understand that it’s our own karma, created out of our own actions. We need to be mindful of all our thoughts and actions; to make sure that these misfortunes will not happen to us in the future.
Unfortunately we tend to do all sorts of things that create bad Karma. We are all looking for happiness, but by putting our own need ahead of others, we accumulate a lot of bad Karma. When we understand the rules of Karma, then we may stop and think before we act selfishly. Should we put our own short life first, or should we think of others and the lives to come? We may only be here for the blink of an eye, but the way we live our lives will stay with the Universe forever!
Karma is a difficult idea, when we think about how often bad things happen to very good people. You see someone who for all purposes is pious, good and kind; but faces a tough life and you start disbelieving in the process of Karmic Afflictions. As with everything in life, our Karma is not just our own, separated from everyone else. Our karma is collective and inter-connected with all others. When we are able to stop, pause and think more about our actions, words and thoughts, we begin to see the cause and effect more clearly. We then begin to understand that by changing the cause, if it is in our ability, we can change the effect. Maybe we haven’t been the best stewards of our planet and now we are seeing what Mother Nature can do to keep herself together. The planet is cleansing itself of toxins, pollutants and the sky, water and the air is getting cleaner daily! There is a plan!
The streets are clear for workers to repair the roads, the animals have less compaction to move freely and just maybe man will start to wake up to the fact that we are not in charge of the world.
This is the time to rejoice that we have friends and family and have a chance to fix the problems of humanity!
I wish you the best in your Health, Wealth & Happiness!
Dr. Wu Dhi
Sherwood S. Swartz AP, MMQ.
