Karma is a Bitch

Today is National Pay it Forward Day. Take the opportunity to get out and do something nice for someone, anyone, a friend or a stranger, but do it without any expectation of getting anything in return other than good karma.

It doesn't have to be a big deal, maybe help an elderly person with their grocery bags, put money in a meter that's about to expire, hold the door open for someone running to catch the train, lend a hand, a shoulder to cry on or just give a compliment or a smile. It will come back to you.

John Lennon had the right idea:

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head,
You better get yourself together,
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead,
What in the world you thinking of,
Laughing in the face of love,
What on earth you tryin' to do,
It's up to you, yeah you.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin',
Join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see,
Laughin' at fools like me,
Who on earth d'you think you are,
A super star,
Well, right you are.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Well we all shine on,
Ev'ryone come on.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you off your feet,
Better recognize your brothers,
Ev'ryone you meet,
Why in the world are we here,
Surely not to live in pain and fear,
Why on earth are you there,
When you're ev'rywhere,
Come and get your share.

Remember, what goes around comes around. Don't you think EVERY DAY should be Pay it Forward Day?

Eat Pray Love

As you can see from my Shelfari bookshelf, I'm an avid reader of everything from the classics, to fiction, to non-fiction, to trashy fluff so if you have any book recommendations let me know; I'm always looking for a good one to devour. Some days sticking my nose in a book and plugging into my MP3 player are the only things that get me through the daily commute into the city on the T (MBTA/Orange Line) .


I recently read the hyped autobiography Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I usually don't like reading what everyone else is raving about because I'm often disappointed when it doesn't live up to the glowing reviews but I actually liked this one. I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by honest account of this woman's determination to find herself and the life she knew she was meant to have. At times I thought she was a bit whiny but I think I was just jealous because I couldn't afford to take a year off from my life and find myself. Wouldn't that be nice, huh?


There was a great passage about Karma that really hit home with me. Gilbert writes:

"The karmic philosophy appeals to me on a metaphorical level because even
in one lifetime it's obvious how often we must repeat our sames mistakes,
banging our heads against the same old addictions and compulsions, generating
the same old miserable and often catastrophic consequences, until we can finally
stop and fix it. This is the supreme lesson of karma (and also of Western
psychology, by the way) - take care of the problems now, or else you'll just
have to suffer again later when you screw everything up the next time. And that
repetition of suffering - that's hell."

I've been living that hell by repeatedly making the same mistakes. I continue to struggle but I'm determined to fix it - I don't want to be fat in my next life too :)

Karma

I am stunned, shocked and dazed! My boss called me in his office 15 minutes before quitting time to tell me he was parting ways with the firm. I have worked for this guy for the past 9+ years and he has been with the firm for over 20 years. He just told me earlier in the week that his wife was having a baby so I assumed he decided to get a life and get out of there so I was excited for him and asking where he was going and what he planned on doing. I felt like an *ss when the office manager walked in with a box of files and only then realized he was not leaving on his own accord, he was not going to be there a few weeks to do status memos and withdraw from all his cases, he was just being forced out of the firm right there and then.

Like everything else in that office, it is all very hush hush but it wasn't necessary to basically treated him like a criminal after he worked there for more than 20+ years. They changed all the system passwords and locked him out of his e-mail and calendar and basically escorted him out of the building in less than 30 minutes. This is just not the way these things are done in normal law firms. I remember when I left a firm after 6 years - they had a party, gifts, well wishes and my bosses even wrote and sung a song about me. They were sorry to see me leave but happy for me and showed their appreciation for all the hard work we accomplished over the years. I know when I leave this place there will be no party and as much as they may appreciate me now they will talk all sorts of smack about me when I'm gone. That is how they are. They do it to everyone that leaves no matter how good a lawyer, paralegal, legal assistant they are or how long and hard they have worked for the firm.

People think I'm exaggerating when I tell stories about my office. When I talk to friends who used to work there they brag about life being so much better on the outside. I have been thinking of leaving for a long time and actually went on an interview last week but the big problem is I cannot afford to take a cut in pay right now and I do get "combat" pay because otherwise nobody would stay in such a vile workplace.

I'm feeling trapped because until B recovers from his injury and gets a job I just can't take the pay cut. Not only would I have to take over a $10k reduction in salary but I will lose vacation time and other benefits. I'm so tired of living the life of an urban dwelling wage slave. I envy people who love their jobs and don't have to deal with abusive people on a day to day basis.

I believe in karma and I know someday these people will have to pay for their actions and misdeeds but that doesn't make it any easier to watch them use and abuse people. I've since spoken to my boss who was forced to resign and I think he is actually relieved. He said he never would have had the balls to quit that place and he had been miserable for years so they probably did him a favor but they certainly didn't go about it the right way. He knows he will end up in a better place like everyone else that has left over the years.

I have absolutely no respect for most of the people in my firm and I have to bite my tongue every single day and hold back from saying what is on my mind. I feel I'm on the verge of losing it and just quiting one of these days but it would be even worse to not have a paycheck.

Is it Friday yet?