A Karma Question

[par4dcourse]

My wife was trying to "get out of" a social obligation at her sisters. Her sister tends to overindulge and usually nothing good comes out of a visit. She thought of several excuses, then said something to the effect of "I would say you or mom are sick but karma would get me."

I started to answer but then realized that I wouldn't use that excuse either.

What is it? Why am I even slightly worried that lying about an illness will bring it to pass? I really don't think anybody's keeping score and I don't believe my words will cause anything to happen, but I'm not comfortable neverlthless.

Opinions?

 

--Larry

[chefranden]

I think our minds are wired in this manner. I'm not sure if it was an actual adaptation or if it is just a side effect of something useful? Why else would so many humans believe in some form of magic? Maybe it is part of our understanding of language. If I ask someone to pass the salt, I pretty much always get the salt. In fact I expect to get the salt. That is magic of a sort in that I acquire something by speaking a word or two. Due to the wiring it apparently isn't much of a leap to wonder if the ether may deliver on a spoken word.

[florduh]

We seem to be born with a superstition gene. You know intellectually it's bullshit, but the programming still nags when you step on a crack, walk under a ladder, or get crossed by a black cat. I think it's normal (knock wood).

 

Don't sweat it, Larry. You're smart, but still human (as far I can surmise).

 

- Chris

 

Edited to change the word count from the original 13 words.

[R. S. Martin]

We seem to be born with a superstition gene. You know intellectually it's bullshit, but the programming still nags when you step on a crack, walk under a ladder, or get crossed by a black cat. I think it's normal (knock wood).

 

Don't sweat it, Larry. You're smart, but still human (as far I can surmise).

 

- Chris

Edited to change the word count from the original 13 words.

 

Hmmm. I think someone is trying to make a point.

 

All the "superstitions" you list in this post are stuff I lived with a long time before I knew anyone should be afraid of them. In other words, when I finally heard about them I had to have it explained to me. Not walking beneath a ladder simply makes sense--one never knows when the ladder will slip or something will be dropped. The same applies when walking under a scaffold where construction workers are engaged. I like when the area is fenced off but when it's not I look pretty carefully what the chances are of something being dropped on my head. Simple safety precautions.

 

As for claiming to be sick or not feeling well. I don't think a false claim to illness brings on illness but I prefer honesty myself. All the same, don't you feel a bit of a headache or tummyache or arthritis...maybe you've got cleaning that really needs to be done or maybe it's just been a really hectic week and you need to just spend the afternoon relaxing.

 

Many years ago I read a bit of advice that I live by. "No matter how important a person wants to see you if you planned to watch TV with your child then you're busy." Or something along that line was the advice.

[par4dcourse]

*bumped*

 

Hoping to get a little more discussion. As an avowed atheist, who am I worried will hear, let alone respond??

[jdog]

I feel the same way, I have never used the excuse or lied about myself or a family member being sick, to avoid a social gathering.

For myself I feel that if I said something like that and then the person really does get sick, I would feel guilty, perhaps believing I had caused the event to happen, like putting a curse on them. But rationally knowing that isn't really true. So yeh some of it just a superstitious thing as mentioned already.

 

But really I think more of a deeper and wiser reason we may not feel comfortable in telling a lie about someone being sick is it just isn't a nice thing to do, it would just lead to more lies and deceit and would cause the other person e.g. 'Aunt Lucy' receiving the 'bad' news to be worried and concerned. Then 'Aunt Lucy' will probably do a follow up phone call, and ask how 'Little Johny is doing, and further lies will have to be concocted, then she will send a get well card, and the next time 'Aunt Lucy' speaks to Little Johny, she will directly ask him how he is doing, and Little Johny will innocently tell her that he was never sick. And so a whole new can of worms is opened.

 

I don't know much about Karma, I have been reading about it, but I think this is more of where the bad Karma comes into it, it causes another person unneccessary worry or sadness etc... It causes dis-harmony within ourselves and to other people.

[florduh]

I'm afraid to lie because I would likely forget what lie I told and be discovered for the unregenerate scalawag I am.

 

Believing that something we say or think can be the catalyst for some magical event to occur in the future is stupid, but we probably all do it to some degree. Karma is a wish for justice in a random universe, with the hope that good and bad actions will somehow be repaid in like kind. It just ain't so.

 

Lies will have a bad effect for real reasons, nothing superstitious about that.

[par4dcourse]

Karma is a wish for justice in a random universe.

That's good. I may make a t-shirt or something.