Secret Life of Nerd Girl: 25 Cents For Your Karma
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a blogumn by Gudrun Cram-Drach
The other day, as I walked down a parking meter lined street, staring at the ground like a surly teenager, I saw a quarter on the sidewalk. Sometimes it pays to sulk.
I thought about picking it up, but then reasoned that it would be good karma to leave it there for someone else to find. In that type of situation I feel it is my moral duty to figure out what is “best” to do, then do it. Walking away, I complimented myself for my 25 cent deposit into the karma bank.
But then I stopped. The quarter was heads up. Doesn’t that mean it’s lucky?
“All day long you’ll have good luck.”
That’s 25 days of good luck!
I have to look after myself, don’t I? Even if it is superstitious.
Then I wondered, is it sillier to follow superstition or believe in karma? But then, some people might consider karma superstition.
I mean, I don’t really believe in superstition, but I enjoy acting out some of the rituals: I don’t walk under ladders, I look people in the eye when I clink glasses, I never light a third match, I lift my feet when I drive over train tracks, I always knock on wood, and I throw salt over my left shoulder after a spill
I don’t, however, have a problem with black cats, opening umbrellas inside, or broken mirrors, and I officially stopped holding my breath while passing cemeteries last year.
Karma, on the other hand, is great. I’m not talking about the official spiritual karma, which I won’t pretend to know anything about, I’m talking about doing something nice because it’s “good karma,” or getting something unexpected and thinking it came to you through karmic retribution.
It can be a useful factor in decision making, if the pros and cons are equal, for instance, to solve the riddle of whether to leave a quarter on the sidewalk. Or sometimes it’s a good way to convince myself to do a good deed for which I can’t expect retribution, I know karma will get me back one day.
Conversely, the fear of bad karma keeps me honest on a day-to-day level. If I ignore a tip jar in a coffee shop that says “tipping is good karma,” it haunts me all day. Have I just destined myself to be reincarnated as a slug? Over a dollar?
Maybe it’s just a reminder to be nice, even if we don’t want to. Put good energy into the universe and hope the universe will take care of us.
We can always count on the universe.
I find it difficult to swallow the idea of a singular higher power who’s in control of everything, so the idea of “the universe” speaks to me.
The universe is behind you, my yoga teacher said, it will agree with you. If you walk around saying “I suck,” the universe will say “yes, you suck, I support you sucking and I will do what I can to help you suck even more.” Obviously the idea is to walk around believing in yourself, and the universe will support you in ways you never expected. The interesting thing about this is, the universe is so vast and intangible, yet it functions on such a personal level that it has your back.
What does this have to do with a quarter on the sidewalk?
I considered the “current economic climate” (ugh! if I hear that phrase one more time…), and debated over making the long term karmic investment of leaving the quarter, or going for instant gratification and taking 25 days good luck for myself. I decided it was every woman for herself, and I took the quarter.
That night I went to a movie. When the lights came up I looked down at the carpet and there was a quarter.
Tails up.
You see that? The universe supported my decision to take the good luck and, knowing that I was conflicted about it, offered me another chance to spread good karma. Isn’t it just amazing?
So I left the quarter, and before I was even out of the theater I wondered if I’d just given someone else 25 days of bad luck.
I thought the "all day long you'll have good luck" referred to pennies? Clearly I need to expand my thinking on that so I can get better blessings! See a dolla' pick it up…
I think the universe supported you to pick up the quarter because your intention upon seeing it was selfless: you did want to help someone else although seeing it heads up was your sign of good luck and therefore it would be ok to pick it up. Then the universe did give you another chance to pass on good karma to someone else and it was tails down. Which I don't think means you will pass on bad luck to someone else. The person who needs that quarter or had good intentions picked it up. I think seeing the quarter the second time was also a test to see if your original intentions were true (because the universe will test ya too). If you were a selfish person you would have picked up the quarter even though it was tails down.
I thought the "all day long you'll have good luck" referred to pennies? Clearly I need to expand my thinking on that so I can get better blessings! See a dolla' pick it up…
I think the universe supported you to pick up the quarter because your intention upon seeing it was selfless: you did want to help someone else although seeing it heads up was your sign of good luck and therefore it would be ok to pick it up. Then the universe did give you another chance to pass on good karma to someone else and it was tails down. Which I don't think means you will pass on bad luck to someone else. The person who needs that quarter or had good intentions picked it up. I think seeing the quarter the second time was also a test to see if your original intentions were true (because the universe will test ya too). If you were a selfish person you would have picked up the quarter even though it was tails down.
I leave the coins on the ground. If karma exists, great. If not, I always figure that someone else needs that coin much more than I do. Not karma for me as much as charity for someone possibly in need.
I leave the coins on the ground. If karma exists, great. If not, I always figure that someone else needs that coin much more than I do. Not karma for me as much as charity for someone possibly in need.
"See a penny, pick it up. all day long you'll have good luck!"…that's what my mum always said when she saw pennies lying on the ground so I just have to pick em up now! The second part of it goes "Pass it on to a friend and your luck will never end!"….so do that, I mean, how much can you really beneift from a penny or a dollar anyways!
"See a penny, pick it up. all day long you'll have good luck!"…that's what my mum always said when she saw pennies lying on the ground so I just have to pick em up now! The second part of it goes "Pass it on to a friend and your luck will never end!"….so do that, I mean, how much can you really beneift from a penny or a dollar anyways!
I like the idea of the universe testing me, it's always doing things like that, right? Clever universe… or giving meaningful 'life lessons' through unpleasant events. If we can see them that way.
It does refer to pennies, and generally I don't bother to pick them up, I think it was more the gesture that made it special, and unfortunately I am old enough to remember when a quarter was worth something, like a candy bar.
I like the idea of the universe testing me, it's always doing things like that, right? Clever universe… or giving meaningful 'life lessons' through unpleasant events. If we can see them that way.
It does refer to pennies, and generally I don't bother to pick them up, I think it was more the gesture that made it special, and unfortunately I am old enough to remember when a quarter was worth something, like a candy bar.