Guess What I Found!
What was the last thing you lost? Perhaps it was your wallet, your cell phone, your glasses, your pet or a piece of jewelry. If it was worth a lot or had a sentimental value, you probably felt mad, sad, exasperated, or even cried. Without a doubt you were upset with yourself for your slip up and shouted: “How absentminded…I’m such an idiot!”That’s what I said to myself last week when I got off the train at the Denver airport. I had left my brand new camera on the seat. Completely distressed, I approached two policemen who were passing by and told them what happened. They suggested I go to the lost and found office. I thought to myself: Someone will bring it back. I always return what I find!
Just as we lose things, we have also found something that wasn’t ours, whether it was a ring or cash. In these moments everyone acts differently. Some say: “Thank you God, what luck I have!” Others shout: “What a shame! Poor person who lost this.” And many claim: “If I don’t take it, somebody else will”
My philosophy toward all things “lost and found” is: don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want others to do to you. Sure it’s tempting to keep an iPod that doesn’t belong to anybody, but believe me, it has an owner! Do you have the right to take it just because the person isn’t looking? Keeping it is like robbing.
The next time you find something and are tempted to keep it, I want you to remember how horrible you felt when you lost something valuable. Acknowledge that if you pocket it, you’re now giving that same feeling to someone else.
Each one of your actions causes a reaction that comes back to you in the same form. That’s what the “Law of Karma” says; when you act in a way that brings joy and success to others, the result of your karma gives back joy and success. That’s why you should be honest and do the right thing.
Anytime you find something, bring it to the lost and found office, and if there isn’t one, return it to the front desk. When it’s a delicate object like an expensive ring and you’re worried they’re not going to return it to the person, you should then leave your name and number so that when the person shows up they can contact you. Should you find something while you’re at a park, the beach or on the sidewalk, head toward the closest house or business and leave your information. Whoever lost it will return to that area with hopes of finding what belongs to them.
My experience in Denver proved to me once again that “you reap what you sow.” Three days after losing my camera, I got a call from the airport saying that it had shown up. I looked up at the sky and exclaimed: “God bless the person who found it and the person who invented the lost and found!”
Maria Marin is a motivational speaker and the author of “Pide más, espera más y obtendrás más” . Visit: www.MariaMarin.com
This post is also available in: Spanish
