Do you believe in karma? It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.

2025 has not been a great year. It will never be the annus horribilis that 2022 was for us, but despite a lot of progress being made on a lot of fronts, and signs that some things are definitely improving, the end of this year has me feeling pretty down in the dumps.

Of course, it could just be that the shower head snapped off earlier today. That was followed by a phone call from the mechanic that they’ve finally tracked down the part that I need for a persistent problem, and, of course, it’s going to be expensive.

And, about 10 minutes after that, as I rolled down my window to get a badly needed cup of coffee at the drive thru, something popped in the door, and now the window won’t roll back up.

Everything I’ve touched today is going to cost money and added another “to do” to the list. It’s also fun driving around in December weather with a window that won’t stay closed.

Maybe it’s not karma, but it’s a clear sign from the Universe to just stop touching things.

When I was younger, I had a few inspirational posters on my wall. The one that was right in front of me every day when I woke up said, “Give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you.” Below that was a fat Garfield pulling the covers back over his head saying, “Mondays.” I think about that poster most Mondays. Also, Tuesdays through Fridays, and weekends when we have to be on the road early for sporting events.

But, recently, someone asked me what my personal motto was, and for whatever reason, the former poster popped into my brain.

It wasn’t the ultimate motto that I gave the person as an answer, but once it was in my brain again, it kept poking at me. Mostly along the lines of “you gave your best, and look how it has turned out.”

There are those out there who will try to justify things, or tell me to focus on the good things that I do have. And, believe me, I am aware.

I have three great kids. They are better than I could ever have imagined, but that doesn’t mitigate the loss of Steve. “The good things” are not the comfort that some people think that it should be.

When things are going well with them, or they’re accomplishing all the things that we hoped they would, it hurts that he is not here to see it and share in it.

When they’re going poorly, or the kids are struggling and I don’t have the answers, or I am fighting with them what seems like non-stop, I can only imagine that things would be going differently if he were still here.

I had the shower head that broke replaced. Did I pick the wrong one? Have it installed improperly? Steve would have known. If we were still a dual income family, I wouldn’t be nickel and diming every car repair and automotive decision, or Steve would be able to fix some of these small things himself.

Of course, we would probably have different problems, maybe bigger ones, maybe smaller ones, but none of that matters.

I guess I keep thinking that it will get easier or that something along the way will make sense. Instead, things just keep getting more and more frustrating.

Right now, especially at the national and global level, but also on a smaller scale, it is easy to see people skating by, unaffected by consequences, or worse, profiting from other people’s misfortune. It’s easy to see people doing things for the wrong reason and succeeding.

MLK’s famous quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” I really want to believe this. Maybe not on a grandiose scale, but on a smaller one, that maybe by doing the right thing today, maybe it will mean that my kitchen faucet won’t explode on me, or the cupboard door won’t fall off its hinges. Or something worse.

I know that my behavior and actions toward those around me really has no effect on whether or not any of these things happen to me, or around me.

Whether or not karma is real, I do know that for 2026 I’m going to start looking for a new motto, one that goes something like giving the best to the people closest to me who deserve it the most and worrying less about the rest of the world.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News