Random thoughts on Karma

Volumes have been written for many millenia on Karma, so this is nothing new. But this post is about a way I like to think the world is.
One short sentence about karma is that what we do (or think or feel) comes back to us. What we send out, returns to us, like ripples going out on a pond, and returning to the point of entry. In my personal experience, nothing I do is ever lost or wasted, and I don't need to keep track of it all, because Something or Someone Greater Than I Am, keeps track. Here's the fine tweaking: If I put something out there, something comes back in equal measure, but it may not come back looking like I sent it. Here is one example.
I like to quilt. It's fun and creative and I feel like I'm expressing myself in ways that feed my soul. Many quilt/fabric stores furnish fabric for Quilts4Cancer if someone will do the work. So, I've made 3 quilts now. I put in my time and effort, and my expenses, because I have to pay for the batting and the machine quilting, but it's a way I can serve and contribute in a very small way. I turned in my most recent quilt on Sunday. My reward is feeling like I'm useful. Now, here's how karma works, in my book: Thursday we went to Snowbird to go on the Alpine Slide, the Zip Line, the Bungy Trampoline, and if we had time, the Tram. It's expensive! A day pass is $32 per person, or a single ride ticket is $8, $10, $12, depending. When we got to the ticket booth, someone came up to us with a free day pass he wasn't going to use, and just plain gave it to us. When I offered to pay or tip, he said, "No, a thank you is enough." So we thanked him profusely, and had a great time with all the activities we could handle. What went out was a quilt, what came back was a day of fun. I call it a great exchange. I have hundreds of stories just like that one. I choose to believe that if I do things for the right reasons ("just because, with no strings attached") I get rewards that are unforeseen and magical. The trick is NOT to expect anything at all, but to RECOGNIZE when the magic happens and just say,
"THANK YOU!" I think there's a great quote by Meister Eckhardt that says, (paraphrased) "If the only prayer you ever say in your life is THANK YOU, that will suffice."