I don't know what you think about Karma. I buy into it. It's like bribery on the largest possible scale. But not like an authority figure bribing you. Or even another adult necessarily. It's like your heart; your soul bribing your brain and your body to do the right thing in that moment in order to earn points for later.
I find myself pausing in little moments in life and deliberating on whether or not this action is worth scoring karma points. Like when you go to clean out the fridge and there is some nasty three-week old leftover soup in a decent tupperware container. The tupperware is like $2.00; maybe less if you account for depreciation. One part of my brain says 'girl you can toss $2.00. It won't break you. That's absolutely foul.' But then the other part will pipe up and lay into me for tossing perfectly good plastic into a landfill, not to mention a perfectly good $1.50-ish into the trash. I usually bitch at myself silently for what a lazy pain in the ass I am and then grudgingly but self-importantly clean the container. And I tell myself that if nothing else, it's good karma and the universe will reward me later. Especially if I yack.
It's the same thing with returning grocery carts. I always return grocery carts, very much because it's the right thing to do and I want to be accommodating to the store staff as well as to fellow store patrons. But a slightly greater portion of my motivation is so that other people see me returning the cart and not only think 'now that's a solid lady right there' but also choose to do the same. Extra points if I'm toting kids. Triple points if it's raining. At the end of the day it doesn't matter why we do good things if they get done right? RIGHT?
There's obviously a difference between me ignoring my leftovers for weeks on end and facing consequences for my own inactions AND taking an extra moment to not be a jerkface in a parking lot. When it comes to karma, I think part of it is the good that you put out there in the world for others whether is reciprocated or not. I also think part of it is doing something decent when no one is watching. Whoever is doling out the karma points, I want my bases covered!
If you think about Karma as a currency, it can be motivating to make an effort to step up your earning game at every possible opportunity. Whether it's bigger deal things that people can directly appreciate like bringing someone a meal, or smiling at the grumpy dude on the bike who NEVER WAVES BACK. OR maybe you just pick up a little trash during a walk. At the end of the day every little bit of good makes us all better. So the next time you use up the last of the TP in a public restroom or are staring down a science experiment in the back of your fridge, take a deep breath and check yourself. Karma's watching!