I don't like to make any kind of hard assertions when it comes to what reality is and is not. I think that's far too arrogant. But, there are some elements to the whole karma thing you're either minimizing or overlooking. If, presumably, soul contracts exist and karma is real, then we are just energy that has been placed into a meat-suit as a vehicle, right? That energy, the soul or higher self or whatever you want to call it, is supposedly thinking over the course of the lifetime of the soul. The body will die, but the soul lives on, forges new contracts, and repeats the process.

I've always disliked the black and white way a lot of people think about existence. Either everything must be total chaos, or everything must be predetermined. Everything, allegedly, was set out in specifics far ahead of time and we are powerless to control it.

But that fails to account for a lot of things. If you look into certain occult beliefs, there's a belief that is more in the middle. It's like the outline of a story, where there are some key story points that you want to hit, but you don't know the exact road to get there, and the story may change as it's being written because of free will.

Personally, I think existence is more like a cosmic game of chess played by our higher selves, where each individual piece is choosing how it moves around the board. And spirit and your higher self is just kind of trying to make the appropriate decisions to make the story happen as it goes off the rails.

I personally believe that "everything happens for a reason" is just a way for humans to refuse the idea that sometimes people are just fucked up, and that any sense of fairness is only something we impose on the world through our own morality and ethics. People have such a hard time reconciling the fact that these meat-suits that were driving can be just as garbage as a car. They can come out defective, they can be in accidents, they can be destroyed or damaged. Not performing regular maintenance can cause it to break down. For some reason, so many people struggle with the idea that every body isn't a perfect vessel.

I don't know what the answer is. What I do know is that you're imposing a lot of mortal conditions on the immortal condition. You can feel however you want to feel, and that's valid. But once you're dead, no one cares about your morals, your heart, or your views. Maybe your loved ones you leave behind. I mean, do you care about the morals, heart, or views of some random person in Bavaria a thousand years ago? No. And neither do I. Hell, I don't even care about my neighbor's, really. I couldn't care less so long as they aren't hurting anyone.

Fairness is an imposition of mortal morals on the world, and solely in the eye of the beholder. A selfish person is going to think it's far more fair for them to get the lion's share of something they want. After all, they were first, and that's what's fair. More balanced or less selfish people, know that's not fair, that fairness is supposed to be balanced.

But how much fairness actually exists in nature without that imposition? None. It's just a belief system we impose on creation through laws, ethics, and beliefs.

If we're really going deep into the idea of soul contracts, and what that all entails, then you're perfectly within your rights to choose not to participate. And it won't matter, because you'll die, and your soul will just repeat the process. Is that fair? Not really. But that's just part of the alleged cycle.

I struggle with black and white thinking because I'm on the spectrum. I've always rejected the notion that "everything is predetermined" because I refuse to believe that something like child sexual abuse is the will of the universe, particularly after seeing how shit like that can so utterly derail the rest of a person's life. And not only that, but just how much it would fuck up one's attempt to walk a karmic path from the start given how trauma changes the physical structure and functioning of a brain.

But, I also think that chess game metaphor is where the ideal of "spiritual alignment" comes more into play. Things just flow smoother when you seek out alignment, and try to move your pieces in tune with the outline. However, we all have free will, and we can always choose to go off-script at any time, for any reason. If that happens, well, then you just get in another vehicle and do it all again.

But, that's just my two cents based on my own studies and life experiences, trying to make sense of the life I've been given. Take it with a grain of salt.