[shivatar]

My understanding that karma is more of a realization that everything is connected and in perfect balance.

Karma is a little bit like God, it's too mysterious and profound to be truly understood. It's a part of God, no doubt, but for beings like us it is beyond us to try and quantify how it works. That is a part of human nature though, to try and understand things. It's OK to want to try and understand karma, but why do you want to understand it? so you can work the system? is it to relieve your anxiety and comfort you?

if you need to work the system you will only hurt yourself. Plus, if you believe what I've said, then you can easily recognize the folly and impossibility of attempting to understand karma enough to work the system.

if you only want relief, then you only need to find enough evidence to convince your self that karma is truly out there. You can begin to look for the signs right now, they will show up the more desperate you get. When you've had enough you can let go of the search. When bad things happen, you will still be tempted to doubt karma, but it won't be an impossible task to have faith in the universe. It's always hardest at first.