# My Karma After Retirement #

Yes, I Believe in Karma

Do you believe in karma?

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Hello dear friends, I hope this Blog finds you in a cheerful mood.

Today’s writing prompt question is very interesting as I read:

“Do you believe in karma?”

For many years, I thought of karma mainly as a spiritual concept—the belief that our actions eventually bring consequences. But after retirement, I have started looking at karma differently.

Today, I see karma not merely as what we receive from life, but also as what we continue to give to life.

And perhaps my own journey after retirement has taught me that lesson.

I spent more than three decades working as a banker. My professional life was filled with responsibilities, targets, transfers, meetings, files and deadlines.

Then came retirement.

Initially, I wondered what I would do with all the time suddenly available to me.

But gradually, retirement became a new beginning rather than an ending.

I started writing more seriously. I began painting, sketching, walking, exercising and exploring new interests. My blog became a daily companion. My camera became another way of seeing the world.

Looking back, I sometimes feel that the years I spent working were preparing me for this second innings.

Perhaps that too is karma.

“Life does not always give us what we expect; sometimes it gives us what we need to become who we are.”

I don’t believe karma means sitting quietly and waiting for good things to happen.

  • If I want a healthier and happier retirement, I have to take action.
  • If I want to become a better writer, I have to write.
  • If I want to improve my sketching, I have to pick up the pencil.
  • If I want to stay active, I have to walk, exercise and keep moving.
  • If I want meaningful relationships, I have to give time, patience and affection.

In other words:

Karma begins with action.

Retirement has taught me that age may change our circumstances, but it does not have to stop our journey.

One of the biggest changes in my life after retirement has been my relationship with mornings.

A walk, some exercise or yoga, a cup of green tea, a little meditation, and then time with my writing—these simple activities have become meaningful parts of my day.

Earlier, I measured my days by professional responsibilities.

Today, I measure them by purpose and participation.

Sometimes I walk with a camera and discover a beautiful flower, a bird, a smiling face or an interesting corner of my surroundings.

I may have walked the same road many times, yet photography has taught me to see it differently.

Perhaps this is another form of karma: when we put attention and curiosity into life, life reveals more of itself to us.

Writing has also changed my understanding of karma.

Whenever I publish something, I never really know who might read it.

A few lines written at my desk may reach someone sitting thousands of kilometres away.

A reader may leave a small comment, share a personal experience or simply say, “Thank you.”

Those moments remind me that words can travel farther than we imagine.

I may not be able to change the world, but perhaps I can brighten someone’s morning.

And maybe that is enough.

“A little kindness is never wasted.”

Over the years, I have met many people—family members, colleagues, friends, neighbours, readers and strangers.

Some stayed for years.

Some appeared briefly.

Some taught me through affection, while others taught me through difficult experiences.

Not every relationship has been perfect. Mine isn’t.

I have made mistakes. I have misunderstood people. I have sometimes spoken when silence would have been wiser.

But growing older has taught me something important:

We cannot control how everyone behaves toward us, but we can choose how we respond.

Forgiveness does not always mean forgetting. Sometimes it simply means deciding not to carry yesterday’s anger into tomorrow.

That, too, feels like karma to me.

After retirement, I have become increasingly aware that life is not only about earning, saving and achieving.

One day, our possessions will remain behind.

But perhaps our words, paintings, photographs, stories and acts of kindness will continue travelling through other people’s memories.

This thought has made me more conscious of what I create.

Every blog I write, every poem I compose, every painting I attempt and every photograph I capture becomes a small part of my life’s journey.

I am not trying to prove that I am an extraordinary writer or artist.

I am simply trying to remain a student of Life.

So, do I believe in karma?

Yes.

But I don’t see karma as a cosmic calculator keeping a scorecard of our good and bad deeds.

I see it as a beautiful reminder that our choices matter.

  • The way we speak matters.
  • The way we treat people matters.
  • The effort we make matters.
  • And the attitude with which we live matters.

My retirement has given me something my working years could not always provide—the opportunity to consciously choose how I want to spend my days.

  • I choose to keep learning.
  • I choose to stay active.
  • I choose to create.
  • I choose to appreciate small joys.
  • I choose to share my thoughts through my writing.
  • And above all, I choose to leave a little kindness wherever I can.

Perhaps this is my understanding of karma:

We may not be able to decide everything life gives us, but every day we get an opportunity to decide what we give back.

So, dear friends, as I continue walking through this beautiful second innings of life, I try to remember:

“Don’t worry about what you will receive from life.
Focus on what you are giving to it.”

Because eventually, our greatest karma may not be what comes back to us.

It may simply be the goodness we leave behind.

BE HAPPY… BE ACTIVE… BE FOCUSED… BE ALIVE

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8 replies

  1. Well said Vijay. I believe karma is a consequence of what we have done in the past.😘

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! 😊
      I agree—our past actions often shape the consequences we experience, but I also believe that every new day gives us an opportunity to create better karma through our thoughts, words, and actions. 🙏

      Liked by 2 people

  2. “Karma Cafe: you get what you deserve. “

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Verma ji, this is one of the most beautiful reflections on karma I have ever read.

    You have taken a concept so often reduced to a cosmic scorecard and turned it into something warm, practical and deeply human. The line that stayed with me longest is: “Karma begins with action.” That single sentence captures the essence of everything you have shared—that life after retirement is not about waiting, but about choosing, creating and giving.

    What moved me most is how you have woven together the ordinary threads of a day—a morning walk, a cup of green tea, a few lines of writing, a photograph of a flower—and shown us that these small acts are themselves a form of karma. You remind us that attention and curiosity are offerings we make to life, and life responds in kind.

    Your words carry the quiet wisdom of experience: the banker who became a writer, the professional who became a student of Life. And yet, there is no bitterness about the past, no fear of the future—only gratitude, purpose and a gentle determination to keep giving.

    “Don’t worry about what you will receive from life. Focus on what you are giving to it.” I will carry this line with me.

    Thank you for sharing your second innings with such honesty and grace. Please keep writing, keep painting, keep walking with your camera—and keep leaving a little kindness wherever you go. The world needs more voices like yours.

    With warm regards and deep respect. 🙏
    Srikanth

    Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you so much for your incredibly thoughtful and generous words. 🙏❤️ Your comment touched me deeply because you have understood the spirit behind my reflections—not just on karma, but on my journey through this second innings of life.

      I truly believe that retirement is not an end, but an opportunity to discover new versions of ourselves. Writing, painting, walking with my camera, and simply noticing the little joys around me have taught me that life becomes meaningful when we continue to participate in it.

      Liked by 1 person

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