Many people talk about karma without fully understanding what it means. The more generalist idea of karma is that if you do something good, or bad for that matter, it comes back to you in some way.

I admit, that’s often the way I find myself automatically thinking, particularly on the more negative side of human nature. If someone isn’t nice, I find myself thinking that it will come back on them in some way, I can’t help it. Somewhere along the way I’ve picked up that belief – but is that really the way it works?

I know plenty of people who flout the law, don’t pay their taxes, speak ill of others, are unkind or selfish. But does that really mean they’ll be punished for it? I wasn’t brought up with any particular religion so my thoughts never raise to the sky thinking they’ll go to heaven or hell – to me that idea is quite absurd. Yet during our time here, to me it perhaps only seems right that people are rewarded for good behaviour and punished for bad. It’s quite a childish view on things isn’t it? Yet I’m pretty sure it forms a huge part of our belief system the world over.

My psychology studies over the past 2 years have taught me one thing, however. And that is that the ultimate goal is actually to do good things but never to expect any type of reward in return– so anything from thinking there will be a place in heaven for you, to believing that if you help someone you’ll win the lottery a week later. It’s more about doing good just because it’s the right thing to do. End of.

Yet here is just a story, sent to me today by a dear friend.  A story so wonderful, one that plays right into the do good = win reward theory, that I had to share it with you. But here’s the thing, what strikes me most about this is not the record player, but the deed itself and the pleasure it bought to both the receiver and the giver. There is much talk of the idea of each one of us being ‘everyday heroes’, perhaps more so in the US than here in the UK. It’s so simple yet so utterly profound.  And if we all signed up to it, imagine what we could achieve.  Challenge youself to give it a try, start once a week and I’m pretty sure you’ll soon find yourself doing it once a day, every day. It may be a smile you give to someone who looks down, it may be the help someone needs to cross a busy road – anything.

And you know what, whether you win the star prize in the raffle or not, I promise you one thing. Once you experience the sensation of brightening someone’s day, the feeling is truly addictive!

Here it goes:

Today I was walking down to M&S for my spinach and saw an old lady struggling, so I stopped to talk to her and offered to wave down the golf buggy that ferries people up and down the high st, but she refused the offer. I got chatting to the lady and she said she so struggles to walk now, and is desperate to buy a proper electric buggy, but the landlord of the flats she lives in won’t let her have one, neither will her neighbours, as it will block the corridor, despite the fact that all the neighbours block the corridor with their prams anyway.

So she asked if I would come and talk to the manager with her, next week. I said yes, as it is only down the road. She’s got decorators in next week, so asked me to call her the week after, and to then pop round.

Her name is Betty and she gave me her number and made me promise to ring, which I will do. She was so lovely and appreciative. It really lifted her spirits. When I got back to the office, I told them what I did and they were laughing at me. I told them that they should do good turns, too, because if you do good turns, good things happen in return.
Anyway, an hour later, my phone rings. It’s the lady on reception at work asking me to go downstairs as I’d won a raffle prize. I bought some tickets from her for the cancer charity that had been running in our building this past week. So I go down there and I have won the top prize!! A really cool record player that you plug into your laptop – you then play the records on it and they download onto your laptop!!

Apparently everyone who bought raffle tickets wanted it.

So of course I walk back upstairs with this huge box, and everyone wants to know what I’ve won. “Top Prize”, I shout! Of course, they can’t believe it.

My boss then turns around and said to everyone “there you go, people – it’s true what she says – do a good turn and good things will happen!”

How very true……….. “

Justine Clement