Consequences.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this more as I see them around me, for myself and for others. so much clearer than before.

I’ve been intermittent mind-fasting, and suddenly clarity comes where there was a fog of jumbled-up thoughts before.

The sayings go -

On freedom and choice:

“We are free to choose our actions, but we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions.”

Stephen R. Covey

“When you choose an action, you choose the consequences of that action.” 

Lois McMaster Bujold

On Karma:

“Before you act, you have freedom, but after you act, the effect of that action will follow you whether you want it to or not. That is the law of karma.”

Paramahansa Yogananda

“The meaning of karma is in the intention. The intention behind action is what matters.” 

The Bhagavad Gita

“Every thought, word, and deed is a seed, and sooner or later, we walk through the garden we’ve planted.”

Unknown

In short, the life we are experiencing at this very moment is the sum of all of our thoughts, our words and our actions up to this very moment.

In accounting terms, we are living in the accumulated profit/loss of our own making.

There is no blame, only accountability.

Some people start with a great hand of cards, while others start with really bad cards. That matters. But most critical of all is how we play the cards we are given.

I’ve played some of my cards pretty badly, and each time I learn to play what I have in my hands slightly better.

Some mistakes blow you deep into a hole, so you can learn how to climb out of it.

If you climb out of it yourself, you have learned a powerful new skill that will shape your future.

If you climb out of it with help from people, you have learned that you have friends for life.

If you got someone to save you and carry you out of the hole, you have learned that you can rely on others to get what you want, and you don’t need to do it yourself. You have learned dependence; you have not learned a skill. You took an elevator to the top of Mount Everest and celebrated it as an achievement.

Each action and inaction has consequences, and the intention behind them can only come from two places - love or fear. Do you love yourself and others enough to learn, or do you fear failure and judgment for trying so much that you can only lean?

Anyways, the best quote that I’ve come across so far is:

Damn right. 

We choose how we handle it and pull it all the way out, pick ourselves up, and walk on forward. We will walk funny at first, but after a while, it’ll get better and we will strut again.

C’est la vie, baby. Mind our thoughts, words and what we do, and try not to order the giant dildo of consequence, the karmic dildo of truth, from celestial Shopee.

Stay well, and may the lube always be with you.

James

Seminyak, Bali

18 September 2025