Karma

There's a common saying, "What goes around, comes around" that often springs to my mind. We tend to think of the things we do as discrete activities, unconnected to anything else. However, all things are connected, so the things we do invariably impact something else.

We aren't taught to think of the world as a system, which allows poor decisions.

Everything is connected.

This fact was again brought to mind this past week when I was in a group of about 30 people and at the end of the meeting, several people asked for prayers for members of their families and friends. What sticks with me were the children: a 15-year-old with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a 15-day-old with kidney failure, and a 2-year-old with leukemia. These were just in this one group of 30 people. Although it is possible all of these could take place statistically in such a small circle of friends, it seems statistically significant to me.

Is it possible that the choices we have made to poison those things that don't fit our idea of perfection (weeds) or that cause us discomfort (bugs) are coming back to haunt us? A person I know on Facebook posted that she was upset she lost several koi in her pond after she dosed it with algacide. We do these things all the time, without thinking that the poisons we use have to go somewhere. They don't always just break down into harmless substances, and if they do, it isn't always right away. We overdose ourselves with antibiotics. Chemicals that affect our hormones are everywhere.

Can I prove these chemicals have anything to do with the health problems of these children? No, I can't. But someone should be looking into it.

By the way, Living Green in Wichita Falls is now on Facebook, so if you are a Facebooker, consider joining the conversation at https://www.facebook.com/livegreenwf.