Saturday, February 07, 2004
"Friendship telepathy"
Over the past few days, I've had several friends inquire after my health apropos of nothing, although I haven't had so much as a cold for 3 years and they know it; I was puzzled by this weird surge in concern until my throat started feeling sore. I'm taking echinacea and fighting it off pretty well so far, and with luck it won't take hold (as my colds last for about a month), but the virus is definitely THERE, and one has to wonder what made all these people suddenly ask about it... well, *I* don't wonder, as this is all part of karma, but people who don't believe in karma are forever being puzzled by all the "coincidences" in life.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Heavy synchronicity
I won an item on eBay that had eluded me for a year. As the end of the auction, and the time to bid, approached, I heard myself saying "And to think, I won it for only $20," which was pretty odd considering it had been going for over TRIPLE that amount... but guess what I won it for (I'm STILL freaking about it).
After that win, I was thinking that there was only one other item in that category that I didn't have, and which I hadn't seen in a few months... and today it was listed.
There was an item that I'd been trying to get for a decent price on eBay that hadn't been available on Amazon for a decent price either, and, when I re-checked Amazon, there it was, for a TENTH of what it's been selling for. As long as I was on Amazon, I checked another category of item I'd been looking for... and there they ALL were, FAR cheaper than I'd seen them elsewhere... and offered by the same seller that was selling the first item.
The synchronicities keep piling up, making me hope that all of these "coincidences" DO mean I'm on the right path...
After that win, I was thinking that there was only one other item in that category that I didn't have, and which I hadn't seen in a few months... and today it was listed.
There was an item that I'd been trying to get for a decent price on eBay that hadn't been available on Amazon for a decent price either, and, when I re-checked Amazon, there it was, for a TENTH of what it's been selling for. As long as I was on Amazon, I checked another category of item I'd been looking for... and there they ALL were, FAR cheaper than I'd seen them elsewhere... and offered by the same seller that was selling the first item.
The synchronicities keep piling up, making me hope that all of these "coincidences" DO mean I'm on the right path...
Thursday, February 05, 2004
A new dream revelation
I woke up from a dream this morning with a new understanding of another of my "endlessly repeating dream themes," and came online thinking about writing about it... so, of course, I encountered an animated gif showing a dream right away, in a random blog I looked at; synchronicity strikes again.
I've dreamed countless times about being back in high school, KNOWING that I've not only graduated from it but from college as well, yet still for some unknown reason am required to be there again, for some unknown length of time. Elements of the more standard "back in school" dreams DO appear, such as "I haven't been to class, didn't do the homework, didn't study for the test," and my locker symbol does too (which I wrote about a few weeks ago), but these dreams contain very specific elements that separate them from other school dreams: the knowing that I'm a college graduate somehow forced back into high school is one, and others are not being able to find or understand my schedule and realizing that I haven't seen my grades for my classwork or, more often, for the past quarter at school even though the current quarter is ending, and the biggie, the speculation about whether the currently-ending quarter is my last one, or believing that it IS the last one.
Yesterday was my 2nd meeting with the physicist I posted about early in my blog (the one who looks like a character taken from my novel), and we actually talked about physics (superstring theory, believe it or not); in my back-in-high-school dream last night, I was concerned with how I was doing in, you guessed it, PHYSICS, although I didn't take physics until college. Since I'm eager to befriend this woman, and had been thinking about whether she seemed to be "clicking" with me or not, it's not a big stretch to see what my wondering about physics class in my dream meant.
Having seen a connection between part of the dream and my current life naturally led me to look at ALL the dream elements in terms of my current life; the anxiety about not being able to find or understand my schedule likely represents my anxiety about what will be happening in the future, and the lack of guidance as to what I'm supposed to do about all of it (I often long for the time when I was NOT the one responsible for everything), and high school was a time when I had a great deal of stress and drudgery with no end in sight, and that's often how I feel NOW, not because my life is bad (it isn't) but because there are always all these unfinished, unresolved issues swarming around, waiting for me to handle them or arm-twist whoever else needs to work on them to do so... and, last night, the time I'd given the other person involved in the most stressful of my current "battles" to handle her end ran out, and I had to email her to prompt her-NOT a coincidence, then, that I had this particular dream, containing the hope that I'm "almost done"; even more amazing, in the dream I told someone that I thought this was my last quarter, but had thought that before and been wrong, and the "battle" with this woman SHOULD have been over at earlier points (again, noncoincidentally) but has instead dragged on. The wondering about what my grades were from the past quarter, which should have been "sent home" many weeks ago, accurately reflects my not knowing what the result will be of my struggle with this woman, who hasn't responded yet to my last attempt (2 weeks ago) to arrive at a solution.
So, another good day for me; I figured out something that had eluded me for YEARS. I also noticed today that the covers of my most current issues of Cosmo and Discover are the EXACT same color (turquoise), with the latter being just a hair darker; you'd be hard-put to find 2 more different magazines, and it's an unusual color, so it added to the freakiness of the day. I wonder how anyone ever manages to be BORED...
I've dreamed countless times about being back in high school, KNOWING that I've not only graduated from it but from college as well, yet still for some unknown reason am required to be there again, for some unknown length of time. Elements of the more standard "back in school" dreams DO appear, such as "I haven't been to class, didn't do the homework, didn't study for the test," and my locker symbol does too (which I wrote about a few weeks ago), but these dreams contain very specific elements that separate them from other school dreams: the knowing that I'm a college graduate somehow forced back into high school is one, and others are not being able to find or understand my schedule and realizing that I haven't seen my grades for my classwork or, more often, for the past quarter at school even though the current quarter is ending, and the biggie, the speculation about whether the currently-ending quarter is my last one, or believing that it IS the last one.
Yesterday was my 2nd meeting with the physicist I posted about early in my blog (the one who looks like a character taken from my novel), and we actually talked about physics (superstring theory, believe it or not); in my back-in-high-school dream last night, I was concerned with how I was doing in, you guessed it, PHYSICS, although I didn't take physics until college. Since I'm eager to befriend this woman, and had been thinking about whether she seemed to be "clicking" with me or not, it's not a big stretch to see what my wondering about physics class in my dream meant.
Having seen a connection between part of the dream and my current life naturally led me to look at ALL the dream elements in terms of my current life; the anxiety about not being able to find or understand my schedule likely represents my anxiety about what will be happening in the future, and the lack of guidance as to what I'm supposed to do about all of it (I often long for the time when I was NOT the one responsible for everything), and high school was a time when I had a great deal of stress and drudgery with no end in sight, and that's often how I feel NOW, not because my life is bad (it isn't) but because there are always all these unfinished, unresolved issues swarming around, waiting for me to handle them or arm-twist whoever else needs to work on them to do so... and, last night, the time I'd given the other person involved in the most stressful of my current "battles" to handle her end ran out, and I had to email her to prompt her-NOT a coincidence, then, that I had this particular dream, containing the hope that I'm "almost done"; even more amazing, in the dream I told someone that I thought this was my last quarter, but had thought that before and been wrong, and the "battle" with this woman SHOULD have been over at earlier points (again, noncoincidentally) but has instead dragged on. The wondering about what my grades were from the past quarter, which should have been "sent home" many weeks ago, accurately reflects my not knowing what the result will be of my struggle with this woman, who hasn't responded yet to my last attempt (2 weeks ago) to arrive at a solution.
So, another good day for me; I figured out something that had eluded me for YEARS. I also noticed today that the covers of my most current issues of Cosmo and Discover are the EXACT same color (turquoise), with the latter being just a hair darker; you'd be hard-put to find 2 more different magazines, and it's an unusual color, so it added to the freakiness of the day. I wonder how anyone ever manages to be BORED...
Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Superstring theory
Having read a good article on this, I'm VERY energized, not just because it backs up MY theory that the Big Bang was powered by a collision between universes/dimensions, but because the article also points out what I have said about dark energy since I first heard of it; that it's just modern-day phlogiston, something invented as a pseudo-explanation for something that they didn't understand. The fact that they have to keep inventing new concepts to fill in the gaps between what the current Big Bang theory predicts and the new data we're getting makes the current theory seem more and more unlikely; superstring theory, by contrast, explains everything in a simple and elegant way.
Basically, it posits an n-dimensional space, where n might be as much as 10 (why 10? the math will forever be beyond me) in which our universe, and any # of other universes, exists, sort of like sheets hanging on clotheslines in the backyard, where each sheet represents a 3-dimensional universe and the backyard is the 10-dimensional space, aka the Omniverse... ahhhhhh, back to the omniverse concept. Everything we know about the nature of the universe, from the Big Bang until now, is covered by this model, and no dark energy or mysterious force to start the Big Bang are necessary for it to work out.
What else exists in that 10-dimensional space? Spirits? Gods? The engine of karma? The energy of thought? What laws govern what happens there? Will they explain the seeming impossibilities of quantum physics, the true nature of gravity, and why the "laws" of physics don't apply outside our galaxy? So many things are mysterious or seemingly contradictory to us (such as relativity and quantum mechanics), and this is because all we can see so far is a small piece of the whole truth, leaving us with the equivalent of trying to determine human biology and human nature given only a finger and a toe. We're starting to see more of the pieces now, though, and the more I read the more excited I'm becoming; it's looking more and more as if the true nature of reality will become clear, not just in my lifetime, but in the next few years.
Basically, it posits an n-dimensional space, where n might be as much as 10 (why 10? the math will forever be beyond me) in which our universe, and any # of other universes, exists, sort of like sheets hanging on clotheslines in the backyard, where each sheet represents a 3-dimensional universe and the backyard is the 10-dimensional space, aka the Omniverse... ahhhhhh, back to the omniverse concept. Everything we know about the nature of the universe, from the Big Bang until now, is covered by this model, and no dark energy or mysterious force to start the Big Bang are necessary for it to work out.
What else exists in that 10-dimensional space? Spirits? Gods? The engine of karma? The energy of thought? What laws govern what happens there? Will they explain the seeming impossibilities of quantum physics, the true nature of gravity, and why the "laws" of physics don't apply outside our galaxy? So many things are mysterious or seemingly contradictory to us (such as relativity and quantum mechanics), and this is because all we can see so far is a small piece of the whole truth, leaving us with the equivalent of trying to determine human biology and human nature given only a finger and a toe. We're starting to see more of the pieces now, though, and the more I read the more excited I'm becoming; it's looking more and more as if the true nature of reality will become clear, not just in my lifetime, but in the next few years.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
The "mystery" of attraction
The quotes in the title appear because, for the most part, there IS no mystery, although we like to PRETEND there is in order to make our attractions look like something mystical and magical, as opposed to the basic animal instinct that they in fact are.
No one really sees anything "special" about attraction to the ultra-beautiful; we're ALL expected to feel THAT (although most of us don't realize that what we define as beautiful in a person refers to the extreme presence of physical indicators of youth, health and fertility). What about attraction to a more ordinary person? We are all biologically programmed to mate, and to not be too picky about WHO we mate with beyond seeing if they look healthy (clear skin, shiny hair, white teeth, clear eyes, etc) and genetically adequate (not too tall, too short, albino, deformed, etc), AND, they've recently discovered, judging by smell if they're of a genetic type that matches our needs (all those deodorants and perfumes really mess THAT one up)... in other words, the majority of those we meet will satisfy our inborn criteria, and all we need is to be around them for a while to become interested (nature requires that we latch onto someone available, which is why people tend to cheat with those they already know), and BOOM, there's an attraction. There may never be any action taken because of the attraction, but most people, men in particular, will admit to having fantasized about pretty much everyone they know; we really CAN hook up with almost anyone under the right circumstances.
There are other ways to become attracted than being hit over the head by beauty and attraction via familiarity, of course, and they virtually all circle around the existence of excitement connected with a person... in fact, "attraction" just means "excitement that could lead to sexual interest." In scientific terms, "excitement" refers to the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream; if you can cause that release of adrenaline, you have created excitement, aka attraction to you, and if someone else causes that surge of adrenaline in YOU, you feel attracted to them. What causes the release of adrenaline in response to a person?
1) Physical beauty; we see someone who we find to be a hottie and are instantly excited (yes, I already mentioned beauty, but it's worth repeating, as beauty draws us in on many levels).
2) Status; someone who has $, power, achievements, certain careers (doctor, stripper), and even certain possessions (house, cool car) is seen as more desirable, and someone meeting a high-status person often gets excited as they visualize themselves getting those things by association.
3) A quick "click"; if someone we've just met turns out to have alot of the same likes and interests as we do, and/or can make us feel immediate liking for them via charm and humor, excitement is generally the result.
4) Situational excitement; someone who just reached a goal, won something, or even just saw their fave band in concert is bursting with adrenaline, and they can easily transfer some of that feeling to YOU if you hit on them then, and vice versa.
5) Fear; MASSIVE adrenaline comes from fear, and, while being attacked by a knife-wielding psycho is NOT "exciting," we tend to eagerly go for "fake danger," like horror movies and rollercoasters, which is why these sorts of things are recommended for a date that you want to increase someone's attraction to you on. Bad boys/girls can also be a little scary, so meeting a "dangerous"-seeming person is exciting.
6) Novelty; anything new has a little excitement attached to it-remember the stir a new kid always caused in high school? Isn't there a buzz about new people at work? When you're with someone new, or in a new and unusual situation, or even in one with alot of humor involved (as it's largely based on novelty), there's usually some adrenaline that can lead to attraction.
7) Anger; this is why make-up sex is so good, and why in the movies you often see 2 people arguing away, and then suddenly having their first kiss.
8) Challenge; whether it's physical or mental, a challenge fills you with adrenaline (and usually testosterone as well, which helps), and physical challenge, or even just plain old exercise, gets your body all revved up in a way that mimics excitement even if you're mentally calm.
******* and, the BIGGIE.... *******
9) *****UNCERTAINTY*****; if the other person doesn't know what you'll do, what's going on, what you think, or what you feel, they automatically have confusion and doubts, and that creates anxiety (which is the cousin of fear).... and that means it creates adrenaline=excitement=attraction. This why tactics like "play hard to get," "keep him/her guessing," "be a challenge," "send mixed signals," "surprise him/her," etc WORK; they keep the other person uncertain, and, if they have any shred of interest in you (and often even if they don't), you will seem exciting to them (and vice versa). This is also why opposites attract, because you don't know what to expect with someone so different (and there's novelty and challenge involved too, of course), AND why being a puppy dog or a clinging vine does NOT cause attraction in most people (some DO love it, though, let's not over-generalize), because there is NO uncertainty and therefore NO excitement. This is why being "too nice" and showing your interest too clearly and consistently usually gets you shot down, because there is NO uncertainty and thus NO excitement... hence the phrase "nice guys finish last."
So, no mystery involved, just basic animal mating instinct and adrenaline. The good news is that you can use this understanding to get the person you want; you're probably already trying to be as good-looking as you can be, but you can add being around enough to set off the "mate with whoever is there" instinct, and getting into adrenaline-producing situations, to the mix to maximize your chances... and the other person will think that it was "magic."
No one really sees anything "special" about attraction to the ultra-beautiful; we're ALL expected to feel THAT (although most of us don't realize that what we define as beautiful in a person refers to the extreme presence of physical indicators of youth, health and fertility). What about attraction to a more ordinary person? We are all biologically programmed to mate, and to not be too picky about WHO we mate with beyond seeing if they look healthy (clear skin, shiny hair, white teeth, clear eyes, etc) and genetically adequate (not too tall, too short, albino, deformed, etc), AND, they've recently discovered, judging by smell if they're of a genetic type that matches our needs (all those deodorants and perfumes really mess THAT one up)... in other words, the majority of those we meet will satisfy our inborn criteria, and all we need is to be around them for a while to become interested (nature requires that we latch onto someone available, which is why people tend to cheat with those they already know), and BOOM, there's an attraction. There may never be any action taken because of the attraction, but most people, men in particular, will admit to having fantasized about pretty much everyone they know; we really CAN hook up with almost anyone under the right circumstances.
There are other ways to become attracted than being hit over the head by beauty and attraction via familiarity, of course, and they virtually all circle around the existence of excitement connected with a person... in fact, "attraction" just means "excitement that could lead to sexual interest." In scientific terms, "excitement" refers to the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream; if you can cause that release of adrenaline, you have created excitement, aka attraction to you, and if someone else causes that surge of adrenaline in YOU, you feel attracted to them. What causes the release of adrenaline in response to a person?
1) Physical beauty; we see someone who we find to be a hottie and are instantly excited (yes, I already mentioned beauty, but it's worth repeating, as beauty draws us in on many levels).
2) Status; someone who has $, power, achievements, certain careers (doctor, stripper), and even certain possessions (house, cool car) is seen as more desirable, and someone meeting a high-status person often gets excited as they visualize themselves getting those things by association.
3) A quick "click"; if someone we've just met turns out to have alot of the same likes and interests as we do, and/or can make us feel immediate liking for them via charm and humor, excitement is generally the result.
4) Situational excitement; someone who just reached a goal, won something, or even just saw their fave band in concert is bursting with adrenaline, and they can easily transfer some of that feeling to YOU if you hit on them then, and vice versa.
5) Fear; MASSIVE adrenaline comes from fear, and, while being attacked by a knife-wielding psycho is NOT "exciting," we tend to eagerly go for "fake danger," like horror movies and rollercoasters, which is why these sorts of things are recommended for a date that you want to increase someone's attraction to you on. Bad boys/girls can also be a little scary, so meeting a "dangerous"-seeming person is exciting.
6) Novelty; anything new has a little excitement attached to it-remember the stir a new kid always caused in high school? Isn't there a buzz about new people at work? When you're with someone new, or in a new and unusual situation, or even in one with alot of humor involved (as it's largely based on novelty), there's usually some adrenaline that can lead to attraction.
7) Anger; this is why make-up sex is so good, and why in the movies you often see 2 people arguing away, and then suddenly having their first kiss.
8) Challenge; whether it's physical or mental, a challenge fills you with adrenaline (and usually testosterone as well, which helps), and physical challenge, or even just plain old exercise, gets your body all revved up in a way that mimics excitement even if you're mentally calm.
******* and, the BIGGIE.... *******
9) *****UNCERTAINTY*****; if the other person doesn't know what you'll do, what's going on, what you think, or what you feel, they automatically have confusion and doubts, and that creates anxiety (which is the cousin of fear).... and that means it creates adrenaline=excitement=attraction. This why tactics like "play hard to get," "keep him/her guessing," "be a challenge," "send mixed signals," "surprise him/her," etc WORK; they keep the other person uncertain, and, if they have any shred of interest in you (and often even if they don't), you will seem exciting to them (and vice versa). This is also why opposites attract, because you don't know what to expect with someone so different (and there's novelty and challenge involved too, of course), AND why being a puppy dog or a clinging vine does NOT cause attraction in most people (some DO love it, though, let's not over-generalize), because there is NO uncertainty and therefore NO excitement. This is why being "too nice" and showing your interest too clearly and consistently usually gets you shot down, because there is NO uncertainty and thus NO excitement... hence the phrase "nice guys finish last."
So, no mystery involved, just basic animal mating instinct and adrenaline. The good news is that you can use this understanding to get the person you want; you're probably already trying to be as good-looking as you can be, but you can add being around enough to set off the "mate with whoever is there" instinct, and getting into adrenaline-producing situations, to the mix to maximize your chances... and the other person will think that it was "magic."
Monday, February 02, 2004
What Caused The Big Bang?
I got one of the biggest shocks of my life when I saw the cover of the February issue of Discover magazine; the major article of that issue circles around the "new theory" that the creation of the "stuff" in our universe came when our universe collided with another universe, generating a massive amount of energy that formed the Big Bang. The reason that I put "new theory" in quotes is because *I* came up with the EXACT SAME THING to describe how we got something out of nothing (aka the Big Bang), and I did this in grammar school nearly 30 years ago, in response to the demands of other kids that I explain how the universe was created if not by God (who they contended had created the Big Bang at the very least). I'm still astounded a month after I got the magazine to realize that what I intuitively figured out as a kid has now been put forth by experts as a possible explanation for the Big Bang, backed by science far beyond my understanding (superstring theory, which attempts to "explain matter, energy, spacetime and the basic forces of nature in one framework"... it sure sounds like my theory of karma, doesn't it?).
I remember, fatefully, overhearing a tiny bit of a movie that my parents were watching many years ago; the scene was an atheist and a Christian having a debate, with the style of clothing placing them at least a century in the past. The Christian asked where the universe had come from, if not created by God, and the atheist replied, "The universe has always existed." No," argued the Christian, "God created the universe. "And how was God created?" asked the atheist. "God has always existed," replied the Christian. "How can you deny the possibility of a universe that has always existed but believe in a God that has always existed?" the atheist replied. Excellent point; either it's possible for something to have existed forever, without ever having been created, or it is NOT possible, and, since we HAVE to assume that either God (Allah, Buddha, etc) has always existed or the universe has, by Occam's Razor we should believe the less complicated of the 2, which is that the provably-existing universe has always been here, rather than inventing invisible super-beings who existed forever and created the universe.
So; although neither I nor the physicists have "proof," my best-guess analysis for the last 3 decades, that the universe has always existed, and that the energy for the Big Bang (which led to the creation of all the matter in the universe) came from a collision between our universe and another, has gone from being a sort of scifi philosophy to the cutting edge of physics...... and makes me feel encouraged about the likelihood that I'm right about a variety of other things as well.
I remember, fatefully, overhearing a tiny bit of a movie that my parents were watching many years ago; the scene was an atheist and a Christian having a debate, with the style of clothing placing them at least a century in the past. The Christian asked where the universe had come from, if not created by God, and the atheist replied, "The universe has always existed." No," argued the Christian, "God created the universe. "And how was God created?" asked the atheist. "God has always existed," replied the Christian. "How can you deny the possibility of a universe that has always existed but believe in a God that has always existed?" the atheist replied. Excellent point; either it's possible for something to have existed forever, without ever having been created, or it is NOT possible, and, since we HAVE to assume that either God (Allah, Buddha, etc) has always existed or the universe has, by Occam's Razor we should believe the less complicated of the 2, which is that the provably-existing universe has always been here, rather than inventing invisible super-beings who existed forever and created the universe.
So; although neither I nor the physicists have "proof," my best-guess analysis for the last 3 decades, that the universe has always existed, and that the energy for the Big Bang (which led to the creation of all the matter in the universe) came from a collision between our universe and another, has gone from being a sort of scifi philosophy to the cutting edge of physics...... and makes me feel encouraged about the likelihood that I'm right about a variety of other things as well.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
The shameful treatment of the elderly
There are some cultures that give the elderly the care and respect they deserve... sadly, American culture is NOT one of those. Americans worship youth, as if that were somehow a valuable quality, and our only interest in the elderly seems to be to find homes to shove them into so that they can live out the final days before their lonely deaths causing as little trouble to the rest of us as possible.
Today, that was brought strongly home to me when I discovered that an elderly relative was hospitalized and then released into a nursing home grim enough that inmates on death row would turn their noses up at it; we were only belatedly informed because an acquaintance who lives near her finally thought to call us and let us know what had happened to her. Naturally, we're now going to be jumping in with both feet to try to get her out of the nursing home and back into her own home (which the social services of that state will fight us on), or at the very least into a better place while we talk to lawyers and such. What's heartbreaking about this is that we're 1000 miles away, and she has other relatives that live right close by but can't be bothered to so much as send her a Christmas card much less make any effort to help her out, even though until she lost her driver's license she used to go to visit them and bring them gifts and treat them with love-she has to depend on OUR willingness to drop everything and fly out to handle things for her or just be at the mercy of her state.
The elderly used to be able to count on living with family members, or at least have family look out for them if they lived independently; nowadays, they can all too often count on being ignored, forgotten, denied even love, not to mention $ and care. I hope that karma has some serious pain in store for those who treat the aged like garbage; to those that take the time to give love to their elderly relatives, no karmic reward is necessary-the love we get back is more than enough.
Today, that was brought strongly home to me when I discovered that an elderly relative was hospitalized and then released into a nursing home grim enough that inmates on death row would turn their noses up at it; we were only belatedly informed because an acquaintance who lives near her finally thought to call us and let us know what had happened to her. Naturally, we're now going to be jumping in with both feet to try to get her out of the nursing home and back into her own home (which the social services of that state will fight us on), or at the very least into a better place while we talk to lawyers and such. What's heartbreaking about this is that we're 1000 miles away, and she has other relatives that live right close by but can't be bothered to so much as send her a Christmas card much less make any effort to help her out, even though until she lost her driver's license she used to go to visit them and bring them gifts and treat them with love-she has to depend on OUR willingness to drop everything and fly out to handle things for her or just be at the mercy of her state.
The elderly used to be able to count on living with family members, or at least have family look out for them if they lived independently; nowadays, they can all too often count on being ignored, forgotten, denied even love, not to mention $ and care. I hope that karma has some serious pain in store for those who treat the aged like garbage; to those that take the time to give love to their elderly relatives, no karmic reward is necessary-the love we get back is more than enough.
