I don’t think it’s that simple.

We like the idea of karma because it makes the world feel fair.

Do good, and good will eventually find you.

Cause harm, and somehow, somewhere, life will make you answer for it.

But I’ve lived long enough to know that life doesn’t always work like that.

I’ve watched good people suffer because of things they never caused, never deserved and could not have prevented.

I’ve watched people carry trauma created entirely by somebody else’s choices.

And I’ve watched people do hideous things and seemingly walk away from them.

So where is the karma in that?

If a good person is harmed, traumatised and left rebuilding their life while the person who caused it carries on as normal, are we really supposed to believe the universe has somehow balanced the scales?

I don’t.

At least, not in the traditional sense.

Maybe karma isn’t punishment.

Maybe it isn’t some invisible court where every wrong eventually receives an equal sentence.

Maybe sometimes there simply isn’t justice.

That is uncomfortable to admit, particularly when you have spent years waiting for accountability.

But perhaps there is another way of looking at it.

The person who harmed you does not get to decide who you become afterwards.

They may have changed your life. They may have left consequences they never have to carry themselves. They may never fully understand the damage they caused.

But surviving does something too.

You learn.

You rebuild.

You become more discerning about who gets access to you.

You recognise things you once overlooked.

You speak when you once stayed silent.

Sometimes you even take what nearly destroyed you and turn it into something that helps somebody else survive.

That isn’t karma.

And I don’t particularly like calling it a “lesson”, either. Some things should never have happened in the first place.

It is simply what human beings can sometimes do with what remains.

So, do I believe in karma?

Not really.

I believe actions have consequences — although frustratingly, those consequences don’t always land on the person who caused the harm.

I believe accountability matters precisely because we cannot rely on the universe to provide it.

And I believe being a good person does not guarantee you a painless life.

Perhaps the better question isn’t whether the people who hurt us eventually get what they deserve.

Perhaps it’s whether we can reach a point where their future no longer determines ours.

Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting for karma.

I’ve already spent enough of it waiting.

NAAVoices.com