The Secret of Life (Part 4)

Let me expand on "no coincidence" and our karmic lessons. If we have the understanding that I described in my last post, we have a choice. Are we going to learn our karmic lessons or not? We understand that if we experience some unpleasantness, even some deep, deep suffering in our present life - maybe at this very moment - it is really a consequence of our bad karma, our misguided amd harmful actions in the past and in all our past lives. We are presented with this lesson because karma is a universal law. In creating suffering for others, we really created the suffering for ourselves. And so we have no reason to be upset, angry or even mildly irritated, much less vengeful or harmful back at people (or about circumstances) that are causing us some difficulties - even causing great suffering. These are lessons that were given because we are being given the opportunity to not respond in kind. This opportunity is really simply a reminder that really we - at the root - are the cause of our own difficulties. If we respond in kind, we are only going to continue this vicious cycle of bad karma. We are not truly recognizing the lesson. We are not truly recognizing our own karmic responsibility. In this ignorance or forgetfulness, we are really forgetting our true selves, our real and true relationship with others, which is that it is karmic in nature - not only our relationships with other human beings but other relationships with all other souls.