Every action you take, every decision you make, everything you do causes an immediate effect on those around you – and on you. And this is the important bit. There is such a thing as instant karma. It is your bed and you are going to have to lie in it. Your actions will dictate whether in general your life is going to run happily or badly, smoothly or as if the wheels have fallen off. If you are selfish and manipulative it will rebound on you. If you are generally loving and thoughtful you will get your just rewards – and not in heaven (or the next life or whatever you believe) but right here, right now.

Trust me. Whatever you do and how you do it will come back to you in spades. This isn’t a threat, merely an observation. Those who do good, get good. Those who do bad, get bad.

I know we can all point to people who seem to have it made and are still pretty vile. But they don’t sleep at night. They have no one to really love them. Inside they are sad and lonely and frightened. Those who go around sharing a bit of love and kindness get rewarded with the same coming back.

It’s a bit like the old adage that ‘You are what you eat’. You are what you do. Look at the faces of those who spread joy and you will see laughter lines and smiles. Look at those who like to bully and get their own way and are arrogant or demanding or vicious and you will see etched lines of misery and fear, and frowns where there ought to be lightness. These lines won’t ever be taken away by face creams or suntans or plastic surgery. They are what they do and you can see it in their eyes. And in the state of their bed, of course.

So be careful how you make your bed. What goes around, comes around. There is instant karma. What you sow you reap. Better to stand up and be counted right from the start. Do the right thing, every time. You know what it is. Then when you get in the bed you’ve made, not only will you be able to sleep at night, but you’ll sleep the sleep of the just.