Karma Cleanser - June 27 2007

Dear Karma Cleanser:

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I have a commute from hell. It takes me anywhere from half an hour to 45 minutes on a regular morning. When traffic is bad, you can double those numbers. I’m wasting years of my life sitting in traffic.

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I have recently begun to feel the weight of my commute time and it has made me wonder, can a long commute cause bad karma in other areas of your life? At home, my spouse and I are in the middle of an undeclared “cold war” that neither of us are able or willing to talk about. I have lost interest in many of my former hobbies (golf, yard work, video games) and usually go to bed right after eating dinner. My spouse and I do not have children (too expensive) and not many friends (too time-consuming) so it’s starting to feel like all I have is the road. Which, honestly, isn’t that great when you’re only moving at 10 miles per hour.

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– – Captain Congestion

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We just read an interview with the green messiah, Al Gore, who remarked that Americans need to learn they don’t need to lug 4,000 pounds of metal around everywhere they go. It sounds like you’re hauling even more than that, a restlessness that hits almost all of us eventually. Use this commuting crisis as an opportunity to take inventory of what’s truly important in your life. Maybe your former passions – golf, marriage, World of Warcraft – will someday seem worth your while again, or maybe not. Either way, remember that getting there should be half the fun.

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Dear Karma Cleanser:

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What’s that old saying about, “Be careful what you pray for”? I have a story that proves the point and also shows the truth of another saying, “Karma is a bitch!”

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After a one-year relationship with “Ryan,” we broke up because I cheated on him and drove him away. I loved him, but I found him too passive and also felt like he lacked an imagination.

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We didn’t talk for two years. Now, Ryan is back and I’m trying to be his friend, which is exactly what I had been praying for. The only thing is, Ryan is not sure he wants to be friends with me. He’s distant and only partly available to my friendly efforts. And the kicker is, he’s turned into exactly the kind of guy I’d want to date. He’s assertive, he’s mysterious and he also has developed an imagination. And yes, I’m the asshole.

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– – Ryan’s Hope

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You were praying for Ryan to come back into your life, or hoping he’d grow a spine? Funny, we never much agreed with the old saw about karma being a bitch. Rather, it sounds like the universe has given you exactly what you wanted – and what you deserved. Where’s the problem?

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Been bad? karmacleanser@gmail.com.