Tags
Debit card, Human kindness, Intuition, Lost and found, Melbourne, Miracles, Shootings, Underbelly
A while back I posted about losing stuff. And the obsessing and anxiety I used to experience whenever something important vanished… it seemed to make things worse. Relaxing, being mindful and surrendering on the other hand, seemed to somehow contribute to things turning up.
It’s a pattern I’ve noticed and whilst I can’t prove this theory one way or the other, it seems to work for me. Or I’m lucky (sometimes). Or my celestial guardian beings are being extra vigilant right now. Or its all just one great big enormous, multi-faceted coincidence.
Whatever floats your boat, but as I’ve said before I don’t believe in coincidences.
Like my first small miracle in recent times, today I experienced the Grace of human kindness at its best.
So I get a call mid-morning from some dude: Hi, it’s Simon from XXXX Bank. We’ve been contacted by a woman who says she has your debit card. Have you lost it?
Confusion.
This morning as I got off the train, I’d looked in my purse and noticed the card wasn’t there. I had a nano-second of panic before I was decided it was safely at home. I’d gotten it out the night before and mustn’t have put it back in my purse.
This was based on my gut instinct/intuition was telling me things were all good.
As well as the voice that I’ve mentioned before, the other part of my intuition works like this: I think of something I need to know – such as – “my card isn’t lost, its safe…” and either I get the game show buzzer style “bup-bowwww” response if its negative, or it just rings true. Wait – there’s a third option – its like a hollow thud, and that means I simply don’t know yet.
Each time a question rings true, I can be sure it’s as good as gold. As in, it will be just as I thought. This is tried and tested! So before that phone call, I already felt like it wasn’t really lost.
The bank dude patched me through to the woman. Turns out I’d dropped my card at the bus stop where I start my daily odyssey. It had been in my bag after all, but clearly not secured.
Someone found it and took it to a small local shopping mall, then handed it in to center management. The woman on the phone was the Center Manager asking me how I’d like to get it back. She’s gonna post it to me.
For all this to occur, not one but two people had to go out of their way. Luckily the person who found my card was kind hearted, and was possibly going to the mall anyway. Then they had to find the admin area (who knows where that is!), and make sure it got to the right place.
The card wasn’t even found at the mall. But nevertheless, the Center Manager took responsibility anyway, worked out a plan and rang my bank.
It’s the sort of thing I would do – and have done – for others.
These two lovely people have saved me considerable inconvenience. It may not have been a lot of extra effort, but for many it would have been too much to ask. Less savoury types might’ve just tried to jack money out of it somehow.
And let’s face it – this ain’t no small country town – this is Melbourne, people! Home of “Underbelly” and gangland wars and shootings and stuff. Melbourne, where every weekend brings a stabbing or two. Melbourne, crime underworld headquarters…
So whilst it clearly isn’t much in return, I can only offer my heartfelt thanks to these two strangers for acting like the world isn’t too large to give a hand to someone they’ve never met. May your kindness come back to you many times over.
Om Shanti!
~Svasti
Svasti–what a perfectly lovely story! You know, even though I have been through a great deal in my life and even though my journey has exposed me to some of the worst specimins of humankind, I have also been rewarded so many times by the great goodness of the human spirit. Your story was such a great example of its existence. Thank you for that.
It’s great to catch up with your blog–I have been away for the past couple of weeks and I am now catching up with my reading. Take care–
Melinda
Oh, I’m so spacey with things! I’ve lost my Green Card, which I’m trying to replace, but I can’t find a copy of it, so I don’t know the Alien number on it……! But I have a similar story to yours, when I lost my cel phone.
Anyway, I have great parking karma. I find a spot on the block where I need to go almost every time. To the point where my roomie won’t drive in town! The reason why I have such good parking karma is simple.
It doesn’t matter how long I’m going to be there, I fill the parking meter. That way, it’s paid forward. Which is how I try to behave in the rest of my life.
@Melinda – the rewards make all the difference don’t they? Wish they were a little more common however!
@Dano – I have a slightly different take on the parking karma, but it works too. As long as I can visualise the car park I need at the start of my trip.
It is always good to do nice things for others without expecting anything in return. If for no other reason than to encourage the same behaviour in others.
Namaste
Hi Svasti,
That’s a wonderful story.
I believe that 98% of people (even in inner city Melbourne) are basically good and 2% are tosspots. Trouble is, the 2% stick in your mind.
Melbourne was the place where a foreign backpacker gave his life for the former girlfriend of a criminal.
I say more good things and random acts of kindness.
π
A wonderful story indeed. I was particularly interested in the way your mind depicted that all was OK regarding your debit card. In my Zen view, I would say that it is a demonstration that mind is truly one with all, and acceptance and mindfulness allows us to transcend our worldly worries and show them for the illusions they are. π Derek
@Amanda – well, sure alot of people are good guys n gals. Without a doubt. Not sure its quite 98% of people though here in Melbourne! These days there’s alot of gang warfare. I just read something about Sudanese gangs terrorising people… and there is always, and I mean always someone being stabbed here. At least every weekend.
But yes, Melbourne was the place where a man (although it wasn’t a foreign backpacker) gave his life for the former girlfriend of a criminal… necessitated because said criminal beat up his ex and then chased her into the street (around 8am in the morning in time for the going to work crowd in the city) and proceeded to threaten her. The backpacker and another guy both intervened, but it was a local father of a couple of young kids who lost his life. The backpacker was shot and critical in hospital for some time.
The gunman is now in jail and the ex girlfriend is sans a kidney and has turned her life around. Or something like that.
Oh I know, good and bad things happen all the time, sometimes at the same time.
But its still wonderful to be thankful for people who do in fact do randomly kind and considerate things. More indeed!
@Derek – yeah I know, its this thing I seem to do… I haven’t tried to develop it or anything. And it doesn’t work all the time. But I definitely knew it was all okay and now I have my debit card back (it was in the mail this evening). We truly are one with all things, if only we are open to it.
Thank god/dess for small miracles!
Itβs the sort of thing I would do – and have done – for others.
There you go! Every time you practice a random act of kindness, you are making a deposit in your “small miracles” account. [I do not believe they issue debit cards with these] π
oops… I knew a backpacker had something to do with…!
ok… maybe not 98%… but lots of people are nice. 98% is one of those figures that sticks in my head.
It’s the percentage of DNA we share with Bonobo chimps!
@earthmother – I know what you’re saying but I don’t think its that simple actually… I mean there were years and years in my life there where no matter how much of a good person I was, no matter what I did that was considerate of others… my life just plain sucked. I didn’t even know if it was ever gonna not suck again.
Its something I might write a post on actually… I think most people have a very simplistic view of karma and I don’t buy it.
@Amanda – yeah, the backpacker got most of the news perhaps because he was an out of towner. The guy who died was a lawyer and by all accounts a “good bloke” as we say here in Oz. It was a pretty shocking day, and at the time I worked only blocks from where the shooting happened. Thank goodness for wonderful people willing to step up for others!