Karma
What goes around comes back around.
The above representation of karma is a very bad one. Why? Because it only focuses on negative energy. Nobody wants to get crushed by a domino. This is a mind-state that many humans seem to get themselves into. We often have a tendency to focus on the bad while ignoring the good.
Back when I was a semi-professional poker player I was constantly confronted with this off-balance dichotomy. Everyone remembers that hand where they went all with AA and lost to 72 offsuit on the river, but then tend to forget about all those hands they won in which they were behind. When we win, it's because we are a superior player, but when we lose it's due to bad luck and the world being against us. Damn yous Lady Luck!
Did you just regift me my own present?
For Christmas this year I got my 10-year old nephew a spinning top as gift. Gave it to him a day early. Didn't even wrap it, just handed him the plastic pouch randomly on Dec 24. The next day I opened a gift from him that was relatively large. Inside was a bunch of filler and a tiny present inside... it was the same exact top. We gifted each other the exact same thing.
It was this one: $10 on Amazon.
What are the odds? There are multiple kinds of tops for sale on Amazon. This one in particular has 3 sizes and 4 color options for a total 15 choices (see below). We both picked the same one and gifted it to each other. How weird is that?
Of course he was ecstatic about the whole ordeal because he's kind of obsessed with me, or so I'm told. He didn't even give away the twist when I gifted him a day early, just made a comment like, "Oh this is actually really cool..." The way he said it was a bit off but I didn't think much of it at the time.
So what's the point of this story? I don't know it was just a weird thing that happened. Maybe something about the energy we put out into the world being reflected back at us. Maybe we get out what we put in. Maybe coincidences just happen. One of those.
Speaking of Amazong
They have once again offered me their credit card in exchange for $80 worth of store credit. I filled out the application and got instant approved which I thought was pretty funny considering the last time they gave me a card I simply just didn't pay it back after maxing it out. Much like seven years prior, I used the $80 gift card to buy Christmas presents. That's how they get ya (or not depending as the case may be).
This particular card only has $700 worth of credit and the physical card, which they sent me in the mail recently, is completely fake. It doesn't have a chip on it and the magnetic strip is completely cosmetic and not magnetic at all. Funny how the law forces them to give me a physical card even if it has no power. Welcome to the future and the regulators that drag it down.
Ohrly?
Apparently the Freechain documentary is available to be watched for the next two weeks on the Liftoff Network. $14 for an e-ticket to the entire event. This comes with a vote for the best film. Something tells me there might be some bias here. In any case it's very cool to see this project come to life, despite how well it may perform. I haven't seen it yet so I guess now's my chance.
The network effect
Circling back to the idea that people tend to focus on the negative and ignore the positive energy within the world, it's noteworthy to point out why it plays out this way. This is because most positive outcomes are often background noise, and we tend to rightfully tune them out.
Nobody gets excited when they push the power button on their computer and it turns on like it's supposed to. This is just the assumed standard. Only when the computer doesn't power on do we have a problem and something to think about. The only situation in which this isn't true for me is when I build my own computer with individual parts and then put it all together myself. Then when the computer turns on for the first time it feels more like the miracle that it actually is. Every single bit in its place, just like magic.
And so there is magic all around us at all times, but we are utterly desensitized by it. Kinda weird to actually think about and consider with newfound perspective. When everything works we ignore it and assume this to be the standard as it falls into the background. Only in 2008 did we learn what a credit default swap was. Until then, nobody cared. Why would they?
This is both a good and a bad thing.
It would be a very redundant waste of time to try to pay attention to everything all at once, but at the same time if we only focus on the negative we tend to lose perspective and the gratitude that should come with it. Like all things, balance is required. We don't think about how our heart and lungs are turned on and working 24/7, but we certainly appreciate that they do.
Conclusion
The economy and world itself are full of synergy and cooperation. Nothing works without it. People do not possess intelligence, but rather the ability to record and communicate what they've learned to others. Without communication, community, and cooperation: being smart is absolutely worthless.
Is life always fair? Do people always get what they deserve? Of course not, but that doesn't change the fact that the philosophy of Karma, gratitude, and generosity is a very important one. Live life to the fullest, or something.
Return from Mirrored Gifts to edicted's Web3 Blog
