The Consequences of Our Actions

So, I was finishing my second cup of coffee when I started flipping through channels on the television and came across a little "Train Wreck TV" I couldn't avert my eyes from.  It was a Biography Channel show on Celebrity Mistresses.  Now, I'll be honest and say I didn't know who any of these women were because I don't really follow tabloid news or follow who Tiger Woods or Gordon Ramsey sleep with.  Frankly, I don't care.   What I was surprised about was the reaction these women had to their fame and reputations.

If a woman has an affair with a married celebrity, gets caught, accepts a large sum of money as a "settlement" (isn't it really just blackmail?), or gives interviews for cash, poses nude, does a sex tape and parades around talking trash, why is she so surprised to find out people think she's a slut?  Really?!?  In all fairness, maybe she's not a slut, but the image she is creating is.  Isn't she responsible for that image?  It seems to me, and I was informed by this television show, that as soon as the publicity dies down and the fifteen minutes of fame have passed, then the woman begins to worry about her reputation and wonders if maybe she's handled that badly.

Now I've never had an affair with a married celebrity... Well, not a full fledged affair, but there was some rolling around in the back of a van with a certain famous country music star, but I was nineteen years old and stupid.  Okay, I digress.  Just seeing if you were still paying attention.  The point is there are consequences to our actions.

There are many ways to say it, "You reap what you sow. Don't write a check your ass can't cash. What goes around comes around."   Some interpretations of karma are not about getting in this lifetime what you sowed in a previous lifetime, but more instantaneous.  If you do something now, it's going to have a consequence (good or bad) either immediately, or later on.  It's just how it works.

I will be the first to admit that I haven't always made the best decisions and I haven't always considered the consequences to my actions.  Sometimes they've bitten me in the ass and sometimes I've escaped unscathed, but I'm rarely surprised.  Pissed maybe, but not surprised.  How many times have we done something and said immediately after, "Why did I do that?  I know better."

At the end of the day I hope I've done more good in my life than bad and the consequences are positive and ones I can live with.

Oh, and if I ever get caught having an affair with a married celebrity,  someone please remind me to keep my mouth shut and don't pose nude for anyone. Not even National Geographic.