If you feel life is unfair at times – and you want to be happier, here’s a helpful Legos analogy! 
My 3 ½ year old son (Ari Salmansohn) has a passion for Legos – even bigger than his passion for pizza. I know this – because when Ari’s busy with his Legos, not even pizza can pry him away.
Although Ari loves building Lego structures from boxed sets, he gets an even bigger kick out of taking huge scoopfuls of old Legos (which we keep in plastic buckets) then building the pieces into “One-of-A-Kind Creations.”
I call Ari a Master Builder – a term swiped from a Legos movie to describe someone who’s innovative – who thinks outside of the (Lego) box.
So – what’s this have to do with Karma and Dharma?
An interesting synchronicity united these concepts for me this week.
On Monday, I started yoga teacher training at the amazing Ishta Yoga. It’s a 5 week intensive program – which starts daily at 8am. As a result, my normal morning ritual with my son Ari is now disrupted. No more waking up and leisurely dancing to fun music. I now have to be at Ishta on the mat by 8am.
Every day this week as I made my early departure, my son Ari made it clear that he was not a happy camper about my new yoga camp schedule. Come Thursday morning, Ari was in total tears. In my efforts to calm him, I came up with a quirky Lego analogy – a playful metaphor I thought would help Ari to embrace going with the flow of this surprise change in our morning routine.
“You never know what pieces you’re going to get handed to you, ” I said, “but whatever pieces life gives you in a day – it’s up to you to make something really awesome with these pieces.”
“For example,” I continued, “in today’s scoopful of a morning, I’m not taking you to school – but your favorite babysitter Belinda is. You didn’t get the “mommy morning piece” today – but you did get the “Belinda morning piece” – and you can make something cool out of that piece. Each day you get all kinds of assorted pieces. You might not get all the pieces you want. You might even get some pieces you totally do not want. But you are the Master Builder of your day! It’s up to you to take the pieces you are given – and make a happy, beautiful day out of these pieces!”
My son Ari contemplated this.
“Yes,” I said, encouraged by his question. “Yes, you are the Master Builder of your day!”
I admit it’s quite possible that I had simply distracted him with the mention of Legos, Legos, Legos! No matter.
When I was done with this Lego analogy, Ari was done with his crying.
Sigh. Relief.
Later that day in yoga teacher training, the inspiring Alan Finger spoke to our class about Karma and Dharma –their differences – and how they relate.
“Karma is the situation you are born into. Dharma is how you choose to act on what you are given – your free will in how you choose to deal with your Karma.” Alan explained.
“In Tantric philosophy, Karma is why you’re here. You’re here in order to work out the seeds of action you carry within you for this lifetime.”
What Alan said reminded me of the Lego analogy I’d given Ari that morning.
There will be some pieces you’re born with which are totally terrific.
And there will be some pieces you might not know what the heck to do with.
And there will be some pieces you truly wish you were born with – but are completely missing from your particular scoopful of Life Legos.
It’s up to you to build something awesome out of the “Life Lego Pieces” you were given. And Dharma represents your “Free Will Choice “ in how and what you choose to build out of your particular “Lego Inheritance.”
Both yoga and meditation are wonderful at giving you the clarity you need to help you view your “Karmic Fingerprint” without judgment – as something which makes you unique.
Both yoga and meditation help you to go from a “restless mind” to a “still mind” – to help you to clear away your limiting beliefs, your illusions, and your negative habits – all of which limit your day to day awareness.
Basically, both yoga and meditation are great blockage cleansers which allow you take a happier, calmer gaze at that Big Pile of Life Legos which you were given at birth (plus also all those random Lego pieces which keep coming at you each day – which are also part of your Karma).
With the clarity of “Vidya” you can better see how to build something truly magnificent with your “Life Lego Loot.”
Alan then went on to explain how according to Tantra, whatever life throws your way is worthy of worship and appreciation.
Every circumstance has within it the opportunity to work out your Karma.
Basically, things don’t happen TO you – they happen FOR you.
courtesy of Thematic Pictures
Every little piece of your life is there for a reason – to be there as something you can use in some way- to help you to build your beautiful One-Of-A-Kind Life!
Although you might not see it right away, every “Life Lego Piece” given to you will come in handy at some point.
Even if you don’t know what the heck to do with this “Life Piece” right away.
Eventually you will find something useful for this seemingly random “Life Piece.”
Even those “Seemingly Wonky Life Pieces” will come in handy at some point – perhaps even to serve as a powerful foundation for something else to be built upon it!
The more clear you can get (with the help of yoga and meditation ) the faster you’ll be at figuring out how to build something truly beautiful with your “Life Lego Loot.”
Look at each piece of your life lovingly!
Stop whining about the pieces you don’t get.
Get curious about the pieces you’ve been given.
courtesy Jane McDermott
And be patient in your search to find just-the-right pieces to complete the beautiful life you alone are meant to build – your One-of-A-Kind Creation Of A Life.
Each day when you awake, it helps if you do yoga or meditate.
Yoga and meditation will help you to get clear on knowing what to do with any random, surprise Lego pieces flung your way – because you will know for certainty in your heart, that you are the Master Builder Of Your Life.
Oh – and I’ll leave you with this awesome quote about Karma to contemplate:
When in the middle of a difficult situation and I can feel myself provoked and the heat of anger rising, I actually say to myself this would not be happening if I didn’t have a karmic debt. And the way I relate to this right now can erase the karmic debt or make the debt deeper. And this type of situation is going to keep manifesting itself in my life until I erase this debt and now is my opportunity. And that is my motivation for being patient in the moment and not responding with my own irritation. -Pema Chödrön
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I’d love to hear your insights on the comment section below! What’s something which comes to your mind and heart when you read about karma and dharma? Share your personal story below!
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Hi I’m Karen Salmansohn, founder of NotSalmon. My mission is to offer you easy-to-understand insights and tools to empower you to bloom into your happiest, highest potential self. I use playful analogies, feisty humor, and stylish graphics to distill big ideas – going as far back as ancient wisdom from Aristotle, Buddhism and Darwin to the latest research studies from Cognitive Therapy, Neuro Linquistic Programming, Neuroscience, Positive Psychology, Quantum Physics, Nutritional Studies – and then some.
