A Messy Bedroom and the Rope of Karma

Sri Harold Klemp

The rope of karma is an interesting thing. We are on earth because of karma, whether it’s from this life, the last life, or ones before that. A heavy load of karma makes us feel stuck, and this generally makes us unhappy and frustrated. The good karma is also in the background, but often we forget the happy times and dwell on the bad times.

On the other hand, studies indicate that in times of extreme pain, the mind does a reversal: It forgets the real bad things and remembers only the good. It’s as if the mind can deal with only so much negativity. When this reaches a certain peak, the mind either blanks it out or somehow softens the memory of the trauma.

For instance, we like to remember our childhood as a golden age when all we did was run and play. The sun was always shining, and there were always pets around to play with and share our love. But actually, children have their problems and karma to deal with too. Such as a messy bedroom.

Every time my daughter cleans up, she assures me, “Dad, I’m really going to keep my room clean this time.” But right after she has cleaned her room, I can see the mess start to accumulate.

I’m trying to get a lesson across to her. “Do one thing at a time,” I tell her. “If you put something down, clean it up or put it away. This way you stay on top of it, you live moment to moment, you keep things simple.

“When you do one thing at a time, you can do an amazing amount of work because you don’t get confused. You have an idea of where you are going. You set one goal, then another, and then another. And if you make them manageable goals, you can get right through them.”

A few hours after so brilliant a lecture, I go back to my daughter’s room and am amazed at how it has self-destructed. But that’s life, and I think most parents cope. The children cope too.

The expectations and standards of parents and children are different. For the parent the importance is in being clean; for the child it’s in being alive. And this causes karma. Mom gets mad and says, “You don’t get to eat until you straighten up your room,” and the child feels like a victim, unjustly punished.

This type of karma goes on every day. One person expects a certain standard, and the other person is only willing to deliver something of a lesser standard. And they may not know they’ve missed the mark. Karma is quite often caused by such an act of unknowingness.

Soul may take a detour, It may spend a great number of lifetimes playing with the rope of karma, but Soul is never lost. Its one and only destiny is to become a Coworker with God.

Soul gains a little more freedom, a little more ability to be spiritually liberated. Like a balloon rising above the horizon, Soul can now go a little bit higher. As It rises, It is able to get a broader view of the circles of activity over which It has influence and which influence It. Our vision of our own life becomes greater, which means our ability to solve our own problems increases; and as a result, we continue to rise into the higher worlds.

—adapted from The Golden Heart, pp. 63–69