Your Karmic Footprint

This is the profound, simple truth:
You are the master of your life and death.
What you do is what you are.
Hua Hu Ching

If I asked you what your carbon footprint is, you probably would be able to respond with something "green" that suggests a basic knowledge of how your daily living impacts the environment. Are you aware that there is another form of energy emission that also needs your attention?

Your karmic footprint refers to how you use the vital life energy that is at the core of all existence. In order to understand this life energy you have to look at the concept of karma as it was put forth thousands of years ago, before it was misinterpreted as a system of divine retribution. Far from being God’s version of "paybacks are a bitch," karma means "action." Simply stated, karma is not something that happens to you but something that you do. It is the unfolding of your life, roses and thorns included. This unfolding is not an ego event, confined to the small space of the self, but is part of the greater movement that Buddhists refer to as "interdependent origination" that points to the interconnectedness of all things. In the web that is the universe, your actions are impacted by all other actions. Additionally, everything you do sends ripples out in every direction.

When you motor through life on autopilot you do not take note of the reverberations of your actions and often stand in wonder as to why things never seem to go your way. Driven by the mind, you are likely to stumble into situations that feel like they have been scripted by someone else or are the result of the cruel hand of God. This may leave you feeling like the cartoon character, Calvin, who once told his tiger friend, Hobbes, "the world is either mean or it’s arbitrary and either way I got the heebie-jeebies."

One way to balance your karmic energy is to accept things as they are. This frees up the energy generally used to complain about the unfairness of life, allowing you to appreciate that life is not arbitrary or mean, it simply is and you provide the rest.

In the end, to know your karmic footprint is to understand the truth that Jesus pointed to when he said "you are the light of the world." Whether that light burns with the efficiency of a compact fluorescent light bulb or an itty bitty book light is up to you. Here are some helpful tips to keep your karmic energy from polluting your world.

1. Conserve: Look for the areas in your life where your energy output leaves you feeling drained. If you give it all to work, for example, chances are you are not going to have much left for family fun night.
2. Recycle: Reconnect with experiences in your life that charge your emotional battery. Take walks in nature, visit art museums, listen to your favorite music, eat more chocolate or whatever it is that makes your heart sing.
3. Unplug when not in use: The Tao Te Ching teaches "stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe." Give yourself permission to do nothing more often.
4. Go hybrid: Don’t be afraid to mix your fuel sources. Sages from the East and West have left behind profound teachings that will get your metaphysical motor running with new-found enthusiasm.
5. Be organic: Realize that you did not come into this world, you came out of it. You are not a fluke of existence but its purpose.

I hope this helps you find the greener pastures of tranquility. It has helped my search and I know that passing it on is good karma.