The Arc of Karma

Tea on a Saturday afternoon in my apartment, with fingers poised over my keyboard. Here I am again, typing my blog article of the week. I'm slowly regaining my strength after recovering from my unfortunate bout of Covid-19. Writing, as always is relaxing and therapeutic and I'm happy to be typing away, trying to latch on to a topic to dwell upon this week.

When I think about all the strife that's in this world today, I often wonder why we humans never seem to be able to rise above our petty little squabbles and focus on things that really matter in life. I remember how historian Yuvah Noah Harari often talks about how important stories are to humans. We, for some reason, attach ourselves to particular narratives about ourselves, our community and our nation. 

Without the narrative of a story, we find life meaningless and aimless. So we live and die for stories. And the myths of religion become the pillars of our existence--something that we defend with our lives and squabble endlessly over.  The human mind only understands and responds to stories. Facts have to be presented as stories or they will never sink in. Legends and myths endure because it is the only mnemonic mechanism that works.

We enjoy ourselves by watching and reading fictional stories about people and places. We support our favourite soccer teams and buy in to the belief that there's a core philosophy in the way they play and what the management stands for. Companies try to create a corporate culture too. All such fictional stories help to bind a community together, without which, we do not seem to be able to be stirred into action.

Individuals too, attempt to build a story about their role in their community as a parent, a successful professional and contributing meaningfully to some cause in society. And that happiness is simply the realisation of such stories in their lives. Stories are the arc of our karma.

We want, we desire, we aspire. All these longings are couched in a neat story of existence, which drives our lives forward. We enjoy and suffer the ups and downs of this story-arc. We console ourselves by telling ourselves that the trough of suffering is worth it, because of all the peaks of happiness that we receive along the way.

All of us will transcend and grow out of this roller-coaster that we're on. And only then do we find liberation from the cycles of joy and suffering. Seeing things with equanimity is the first sign of maturity along this self-propelling train of life. 

Whenever we look at things with a dispassionate eye, we allow things to find expression in the most optimal way. There's no over-reaction to either the positives or negatives. We neutralise karma, simply by noticing and acknowledging every oscillation of our emotions. 

Take a hard look at yourself. What kind of story do you carry with you? What narratives in your life drive you forward? Whatever they are, they determine the pain and pleasure of your existence. 

We, cannot live without stories, but we can always find better ones. Good stories are like computer programs that execute the karmic purpose of your life efficiently.  So take control of your story and not let others define it for you.