Some of us just get the raw deal no matter what we do and there are plenty of people like that, who try to do everything right and still get suckerpunched by life. They pay their bills on time, are kind to others, show up when they say they will. But regardless, bad things can happen to them, infact more terrible things than what happens to people who don't do as good as they do.
We grew up believing in some invisible accounting. Goodness is counted somewhere, that something happening to someone else will happen again. When I was in high school, I had a teacher who would always say God is watching, before we took an exam, as if the Universe was taking roll. I usually think of that now. Not out of bitterness but rather with a clear understanding of the difference between good and bad. I still believe in doing good things, the logic just changed.
By the way, lions don’t spare you because you’re vegetarian, that’s not being cruel, that’s just being a lion. The way the world works has nothing to do with you or your moral history. You cannot negotiate, drought has no soul nor does a recession.
This is never to tell you to become cold, callous and transactional, doing good things holds immense value, it defines who you are and not just the benefits you receive, it really matters for you as an individual. It doesn’t matter if you can expect reciprocity from life, this is how people become disillusioned and feel cheated in life. They were betrayed by the social contract that nobody asked them to sign.
Be a good person because that’s who you are, not because you expect the universe to pay you for being a good person.
