Karma. Seed. Feeling Stuck.

My friend posted this question, I'm reposting with permission.  It's a question I struggled with for decades and a common one to the human experience:

Question: They say karma is a bitch... I wonder what I did in a previous life to deserve the crap I have to deal with now. My life isn't terrible, I know, but so many people have it so much easier and I just dont know why I am stuck where I am in life. I don't need a pity party... I do great at those by myself!

Feeling Stuck, and Karma (seed/harvest) are both topics I've been pondering for many years.

Here's my thoughts...

#1. In a broken world things break. So if things aren't going right, that's just part of the human experience. But not the only part, keep pushing forward.

#2. Generally output is equal or greater than input, but that's a general principle not a guarantee for success every time. 

Some seeds produce thousands of times more than you put in. Some seeds never root. Some seeds root then die off quickly. 

Because seed/harvest is a principle, it can still be good to check inputs (what you feed the system). Outputs (what the system feeds you back) are out of your control, but they are influenced by the inputs.

Nevertheless, not every seed (input) will produce.

#3. Boundaries and Emotional Health affect us more than we are usually aware of. It's very possible to be struggling in life, never getting traction on the changes you seek, never "getting ahead" all while focused on the external circumstances (if only I had...) while you are completely unaware of the internal changes you need to make. My entire job environment changed for me in the last three months because my own heart got healed, and what used to be turmoil and dread at work changed to a happy place, without external circumstances changing. 

#4. Just keep swimming. Life is seasonal. Some seasons are darker and some brighter.

#5. Be careful of comparison. You're almost always judging your internal world by someone else's external highlights reel. You are uniquely you. Only you can do what you do the way you do it. Don't compare, just strive to be your truest and most authentic self, the self God created you to be.

#6. Focus on what you give not what you get. The more we focus on what is coming back to us the less happy we'll be. The more we focus on what we sow into others the more content we'll be. This doesn't mean that we should be codependent and give ourselves to death. We should be balanced, healthy, taking time for self care, feeding ourselves strength so that we are fully equipped to give. But... If we're focused on what is coming to us, we'll stop sowing, and stop reaping.