By Joe Panek

"Every action, no matter how small, has a consequence." -  Kate DiCamillo

"Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences." - Norman Cousins

An event can have two kinds of consequences: Intended and Unintended. Our decisions, choices, actions and words are events which we create and set in motion. We believe that the events we create will provide us with an Intended outcome. But, how
often have we experienced, often to our dismay, that events which we set in motion often result in unintended, and unexpected, consequences which end up being ruinous not only to our intended purpose but also our current Incarnation? We tend to label these
consequences as tragic.

On the other hand, how often have we also experienced that an Unintended Consequence of an Event which we have set in motion results in something more beneficial than we had originally anticipated? We choose to label these events as serendipitous. Serendipity is the discovery of something more surprising, delightful, or beneficial than what we had originally been seeking.

Creation, of which our current incarnation is an integral part, is a series of events. And every event has a consequence. We tend to label these consequences as either expected and intended, or, as unexpected and unintended.

It is important to understand that once an event has been set in motion it develops a "life of its own" and cannot be stopped until it has run its full course and comes to the end of its cycle.

Furthermore, many events are interconnected  with, and can overlap, other events. Whenever we set an event in motion it can become involved, or entangled, with other events which are already "in play". When this happens, these events will very likely affect each other to some degree.

Likewise, an event which we set in motion can also interact with, affect, and be affected by, other events which have not yet been put "in play".

It is the combining, or mingling, of our event with these other events which can result in both our event, and the event it interacts with, producing consequences which are unintended.

Events, along with their interconnectedness and consequences, are represented mythologically, symbolically and esoterically by Indra's Web, Kabbalah Paths, and The Spider's Web.

As every event has a life of its own, it must run its complete cycle. Some events take a long time to "play out" while others take but a short time to complete their cycle. Some events have long-term consequences while others have short-time consequences.

In the same way in which we are responsible for our actions, so too are we responsible for the events that we put in motion. Therefore we bare sole responsibility for the Karmic Consequences which result from any event we create regardless of whether these
consequences are Intended or Unintended. Once we put an event in motion it is far too late for us to say, "I never intended for that to happen".

The Law of Karma, being a Divine Principle, is not concerned with whether we created an event through haste, thoughtlessness, malice, ignorance or good intentions. The Law of Karma simply completes the consequence of the event which was put in motion
and presents the creator of the event with either a Karmic Reward or Karmic Debt.

Therefore, as we bare sole responsibility for our actions, and the events we put in motion, it is vitally important that we weigh our decisions and actions very carefully and only place in motion those events which can bring us the greatest Peace, Contentment,
and Karmic Rewards.

http://www.aseekersthoughts.com/2010/07/unintended-consequences.html