My Name Is Doug

Sometimes a surmise is as good as a smile. I have no way of knowing how the young lady had arrived at such a point in her life that she felt the need to have “Karma” inscribed on her neck, but there it was.
Sixty-five years from now, if karma hasn’t caught up with her yet, it will still be there each times she looks in a mirror.
From a few minutes spent talking with her, my surmise is that her desire for the tattoo sprang not from any adherence to Hindi or Buddhist philosophy, but a great affection for it’s most unlikely hero, Earl.
As in, “My Name is Earl”, the sitcom. Fictionalized Karma is readily available, as the scripts are written so that Earl does act as its agent and sometimes puppet. And sometimes victim.
In truth, there is no Karma. Some think that it is analogous to the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ But that doesn’t quite fit, as each of us is daily slogging through circumstance which does not change no matter how well we treat others. The same circumstance will happen even if we are villains. Karma doesn’t look high enough.
Yes, I’m reminding you that this is a Christian blog. Our Creator, the One who knows us intimately to our very molecules is in charge of every event, the Master of all circumstance.
“23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.” Psalm 37:23
“37 Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That both good and ill go forth?” Lamentations 3:37-38

Karma doesn’t allow you to control what will happen in your life, even if you tattoo it on your skin or repeat the word two thousand times a day.
It is indeed good to live by ‘The Golden Rule’. But it is more important to live for God, to seek His Will for your life.
In case anyone was wondering, I didn’t photograph the karmic young lady; I “borrowed” the neck of a friend, which looks much better without the letters photoshopped onto it.
My name is Doug.