Good karma

Who does not believe in karma? This is a concept that is difficult to teach to non-believers until they actually experience it. And we hope they experience the good kind. Bad karma is as it is said – negative and sometimes evil.

I had lunch with one of the most respected women entrepreneurs I know and the word that came to mind as soon as I saw her is KARMA. She never counts, never mentions money in all our conversations and only mentions opportunities and good news. She has been very blessed and has gone places in just a few years because she is a positive being. You actually will not hear any rants from her, but a friendly story-telling with her malambing or soft Bicolana accent.

And I believe she is blessed because of karma.

Bernadette, or Bidi as we call her, is first and foremost a farmer. She hails from Ba-ao, Camarines Sur and has been helping many artisans sew, create and help in her art and clothing enterprise.

She claims she cannot cook (like me) but loves to eat and she does her part in growing vegetables, planting fruit trees and being active as a RAFC (Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Council) chair for Bicol.

She is one who set her sights on acquiring a Jesuit education as a scholar and finished at the Ateneo de Manila. Yes, from faraway Bicol she got what she wanted – to be a scholar and graduate from one of the top universities of the land. After college, she helped her townmates hone their skills in sewing and other artistic pursuits, with herself collaborating with known visual artists and landing exhibits at Manila’s prestigious galleries.

She will soon have a solo exhibit in Fundacion Sansó and continues to sell her wearable art with her signature faces on jackets, bags and now even Filipiniana wear. I am so proud to know someone like her who has evolved over time, not stopping at just an award or accomplishment. She is humble to serve as private sector head in a public office for the benefit of farmers of her region, contributing to agriculture in general and to Bicol in particular.

When I asked her what keeps her going, she simply said she “wants to help her fellow Bicolanas” be sustainable and now to also address climate change. She creatively thought of adding fruit trees in her forest farm, is looking to produce videos on endangered fruit and vegetable species of Bicol and is busy thinking of ways to face El Niño head on.

Despite the political complexities in the area, she simply works with the private sector, the underprivileged, along with her small role as RAFC chair (which I think is not a small feat). How is she blessed for rendering quiet public service? She gets to meet the powers that be and gets their ear, allowing her to talk about her region’s requests, bringing their needs closer to the top. She also works well with private individuals who give her breaks in market access for her products so her enterprise can be sustainable.

Another entrepreneur who to me is an example of good karma is another woman entrepreneur who is an ex-OFW (overseas Filipino worker). Ten years ago she came home to help her father’s coffee shop business expand from Sulu to Zamboanga City. Together with her supportive male champion husband, she recruited her relatives from Sulu to build a café from the ground up in Zamboanga City. Instead of being tambays in Jolo, she gathered the youth to be her construction team. Then she got her brothers and sisters to help her set up shop. Today, she is blessed with not just a few shops but has expanded to other parts of Mindanao.

She gave her unemployed Tausug relatives a chance to better their idle selves while completing the Tausug theme of her café. She also started to train her nephews and nieces to run the cafés. Today, she is blessed with a few different concepts, all with the mission of promoting the Tausug culture – she has a food stall called TUTUP, a café called Dennis Coffee Garden serving Sulu coffee and pyanggang chicken, which is the Tausug version of lechon manok (roast chicken). When she gives, she never counts. And her blessings seem to be difficult to count as well.

It is never too late to start a good karma cycle. Stop thinking about monetary exchanges and instead think of just depositing good acts to the Universe. It is not about donating money, it is more about acts of kindness with no idea of getting something in return. It is about genuine acts of doing good for others, rather than hiring them for money.

It can also be about barter. Without a medium of exchange, you can trade goods and/or services. But the best is not telling anyone what good you did. Because that is the best proof that Someone is always watching us anyway. Just do good, perform an act of kindness and you will be overwhelmed and surprised with blessings that will come your way.

Or like Imelda and Bernadette, just do it because it is the right thing to do. They never asked how much money it will make or if it will make them better and more astute business people.

There are times we need to be more spiritual than downright streetsmart. Just do good and the Universe will reward you.

There is a bank with no passbook or online app. It’s called the Bank of Good. Just keep depositing. Withdrawals need not be made. Blessings and dividends, however, will come everyday. Now that’s a fair deal, is it not?