All the goodness in the world
We are bargain hunters, all of us. We make bargains with God, with reality or the cosmos or karma or whatever. We are convinced someone or something out there is keeping score, and that our lives are like a bet we are daily making that the things we do are somehow a reliable indicator of the things we will get.
We do this in countless ways. I’ll cut back on the sugar, I’ll eat leafy things that taste gross, I won’t smoke or shoot things into my veins, I won’t drink (much), I’ll bundle all of this healthy goodness up with a bit of exercise, and in return I will be spared the antiseptic barrenness of hospital rooms and terrible food and visiting hours and long hours with falling-apart people.
I’ll go to church and pray and give my money to worthy causes, and in return God will see fit to bless my efforts, or at least spare me some of the awfulness that I see all around me.
