When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Withdrawal from the Karma Bank

I don't think I actually told you all this, but I've been having some car troubles. In July, I fould out that I had a couple issues with my engine (one of which was caused by a crappy oil change, no need to get into that). Then there was a recall on my air bags. Two trips to the Honda dealership later, I got those fixed. But then it turns out that my seatbelt had an issue. Yet another trip to the shop. Oh, and to top it off, one tire had a slow leak. And now, not even three weeks later, my car won't start. It's either the starter or the alternator. Fingers crossed for the starter.

I don't say all of this to bring you down or ask for pity. This is a story of how you should treat people and how you should go through life. I live by the Karma Bank. The Karma Bank knows all, people. Because of this, I often "make deposits" into the Karma Bank by paying it forward. Help out in all the little ways that you can while you can. Be the helping hand for others. That way, when it comes time for you to need the help, there will be enough good karma in the bank for you to be able to make a withdrawal. 

Paying it forward to the Karma Bank goes hand-in-hand with needing to live life optimistically. Don't dwell on the things that go wrong. Count your blessings instead of your mistakes. We thought we had roadside assistance through our insurance. Turns out we didn't actually sign up for it. We have it now, but that doesn't help with the car that is already broken down. BUT I have friends who can help me out with getting to work until payday on Thursday when we can afford to get the car towed and fixed.

Focusing on how many times the car has needed to go to the shop or that we forgot to get the roadside assistance would really suck. Instead, I choose to focus on how fortunate we have been that most of the repairs were free (the airbags, seatbelt, and I had a flat tire). This is only the second fix I've had to pay for. That's some awesome Karma.

So what's the take-home message? Live life with a giver's heart. Be the light for others in their times of darkness. Stay positive when it's your turn to walk in the darkness, and know that your kindness won't be forgotten.

How do you usually handle stressful situations? What do you live by if not the Karma Bank?