Karma Must'a Forgot About Me

What is luck, anyway? Does it really exist? What about good fortune, karma, or destiny? Luck by any other name would smell as sweet. . . Ok, I'm not going to get all Shakespeare on you. I'm just posing these philosophicals because I can't think of a better intro to this post. That reminds me of a movie quote, "What's with you today?" "What's with today, today?"

But I digress.

I've never really been a believer in the attitude of, "Well, if it was meant to be" dot, dot, dot. I remember discussing this with The Becca years ago and agreeing that it is a cop-out attitude that takes away our responsibility. You are in charge of your life, not Mr. Fate or Señora Suerte (translation: Mrs. Luck -- I also wonder why she's Spanish). No offense to any of you who believe in such crazy antics. I guess I opt to create my own destiny, if you must call it that. However, I do concede to the notion that sometimes crazy coincidences occur that can either be positive or negative depending on the person, place, situation, etc. So what am I babbling about? Well I'll tell you.

Not long ago, Kyle and I bought a few items at the grocery store. As we walked up to the self check-out station and started scanning our schtuff, I noticed a $20 bill eyeing me from the cash return slot. What did I do? (This would be a great "Choose your own adventure!" blog but you have to stick with the "I'll just tell you what I did, 'aight?") I immediately took the $20 and handed it to a store employee explaining it was left by the previous customer. I didn't really give it a second thought. We finished our purchase and were out the door only moments later.

Later that night, we were given free tickets to a Jazz game. We had fun, they won by three in OT (luckily... I mean, wait - never mind) and we were in the process of leaving the Energy Solutions Arena when I realized I left my jacket on my seat. I retrieved my jacket but realized my phone fell out of my pocket in the process (in the midst of a herd of exiting fans). We immediately checked Lost & Found, called my phone about a zillion times in case someone heard it. . . but nada. The phone was stolen - in two measly minutes.

The fact that my phone was stolen irked me quite a bit (and I don't really get irked too easily). The cold truth is some people care less about doing the morally right thing and more about personal gains. Sad, but true. The irony to me is the amount it cost for me to buy a new sim card for a previously used phone provided by Kyle's bro was, yep, you guess it - $20 (give or take a few but come on, go with me on the poetic injustice here). Remember the $20 I returned from the grocery store? Was it fate . . or luck? Should I have taken the $20 since it's not really the store's money but some forgetful customer? They were probably long gone anyway. . . right?

I don't tell this story to pat myself on the back while griping about my loss of faith in the goodness of humanity. I guess I tell it because I think Karma owes me one. I try to be a good person, be honest, smile at strangers, and, you know.. vote. Can't I catch a little break? But then again, if I wonder why people do bad things, why do I do good? To feel good? Isn't that a personal gain? The funny thing is, as I grumbled about the punk who stole my phone and all the reasons why and how I thought most people were over being petty thieves, I wondered what I would have done if the $20 presented itself AFTER the cell phone heist. Would I have been annoyed and angry at the world and decided it was a measly $20 that no one was going to miss and, hey, I deserve it, don't I? . . .

. . .

No. I know myself. I would have done the same thing I did before. Not because I'm a saint but because it's not mine to take. One could call it luck, or fate, or good fortune giving me a chance to break a little even. But I wouldn't because I can always choose the good. I'd rather have that than the $20.

And it wouldn't hurt to have my cell phone back, too. (I miss you, little guy)