Life is a circle

Life moves in circles. Days repeat. Seasons return. People come and go. And inside every big circle of life, there’s a smaller one: the circle of what is actually ours to hold. In my control: My boundaries, my response, my energy, the way I speak, who I choose to spend my time with, my attitude, processing emotions, the way I treat others and my own self-talk. Out of my control: Others’ opinions of me, other people’s beliefs and behaviors, outcomes, the future, the past, aging, the way people behave toward me, external events, time, what others say about me and the way people treat me. When we forget this distinction, we get tired trying to manage outcomes and change people. We absorb words that aren’t ours. We carry the past like a backpack and the future like self-imposed weight. Where karma fits in In many traditions, karma isn’t punishment. It’s cause and effect. The energy you put out comes back to you. That means the things in the “in my control” circle are where you create karma: your response, your boundaries, how you treat others and your self-talk. You can’t control what someone says about you. That’s their karma. But you can control whether you react with...