‘I promise you l, I’ll be right back like karma.’

I love these lines. They are from an artist my son listens to on repeat. His name his Phyno and my second son is his biggest fan. Phyno sings and raps in Igbo and has been a tremendous source of comfort for my son when sensory issues get in the way. For example, we got through our vacation in Jamaica, because we put all of Phyno’s music on a mini iPod for music only we purchased on Amazon. I am truly that parent that does not subscribe to IPads or tablets, not on vacation and certainly not at home. My kids have them. In fact they have 2 because I hid the first sets and had no idea where we kept them. So I ended up purchasing new ones thinking they would help my children with play and learning. Let’s just say, even those are hidden now and I have no idea where and intend to not even look for them. I do know we will keep music around and I’m tempted to try kindle only tablets for books only. But till then, music is all we have at home.

To get through the summer vacation, we exposed my second son to all the music he loved, watched as he engaged with some and not the others, and evaluated a changed in his behaviors over time. Of course, it was a mini research for me. I am a trained researcher and conducting researcher has helped me cope with a high functioning son on the spectrum and these days music has a way of making things big and bright for us. Today, on our way to Piano lessons, while listening to Phyno, I was moved by the words: ‘I promise you, I’ll be right back like karma.’ Everything about it is lyrically beautiful, but it’s their intent that I choose to keep today.

The past couple of days have me doing things that many thought I didn’t care of or ignored. I have always said that people ignore me at their own peril. Every single thing I do is for a reason, down to the words I write. Of course they are never clear when I spew them out and these days expressive writing is all I do, another evidence based research with healing properties. Whether writing or music, if you ignore me and all I stand for, I promise you, that you will come back to me like karma. It’s my gift and my curse.

I know my soul and when I set out to do anything, what you won’t get is repetition or cut and paste because old things bore me. It’s the reason why I actually don’t like presentations as I work too hard on them. I also think 60 minute meetings are boring and unproductive. 30 minutes of focused attention does wonders. Fifteen minutes are insane but phenomenal when you have a clear agenda. I share all this to loudly say, ignore me at your peril. What is in me is greater that me and if you do, I promise you that you will be right back to me like karma.