Thank You, Stranger
You sometimes hear from other people that the world is vile. I guess, I really can’t blame them because every day you get to see on T.V., hear on the radio and read on newspapers how wicked people are. Every single day there are senseless killings, kidnappings, break-ins, hold-ups, molestations, immoralities and so many other criminal acts. That’s the reason that I refrain from watching, listening and reading news because I don’t want to believe that the world is evil through and through. I don’t want to believe that there is no goodness left on men’s hearts. I don’t want to believe that anything and everything can be bought now even integrity, honesty, credibility and all other else. I don’t want to believe that when money speaks few are deaf. They say that money is the root of all evil; I say too much love for money is. Let’s be realistic, we need money in order to survive but we need not hurt or kill someone to acquire money. They say that whenever money is involved even the noblest of mortals will be tempted; I say not all, not at all. In fact yesterday I’ve witnessed a selfless sincere act of goodness, it may be small but it made a big difference on how other people should see the world…in hopeful eyes.
You see my friend and colleague Bong went to our pantry to wash his tumbler; he was bringing his quite pricey phone with him. Since he did not bring a bag or a pouch to put his phone in, he put it on top of the microwave near the sink. One of our friends Lyle went inside and they chatted for awhile before leaving the pantry and went back to their workplaces together. Oblivious that his phone with no case whatsoever was left very much exposed on top of the microwave oven. He only realized that his phone was gone after more than an hour when Lyle wanted to share some pictures with him. He stood up immediately and ran to the pantry and checked the top of the microwave oven but of course it wasn’t there anymore. His mind was in a state of panic and he couldn’t think clearly. He was thinking “I’ve saved up my every blood, sweat and tears for that phone and now it’s gone.” It’s not just an ordinary phone to him, it’s a symbol of all his hard work and it’s the fruit of his labor but he doesn’t have any idea how to get it back. He tried calling his own number but it was turned off already. He was desperate to get through that’s why his patience has paid off; it rang and was answered by a deep throaty male voice. It turned out the phone was returned to the head of our Admin anonymously. Whoever that person was, refused to be thanked and rewarded. He did it out of the goodness of his heart and not because he wanted to get something in return. I salute that person. It’s a 22k worth of phone just bought a few months back so it’s almost new. He could have kept it for himself or sold it but he didn’t. He opted to do what is right and what is good and that’s returning it to the rightful owner. Even in the time of economic crisis when every penny matters, he did not cave in to temptation.
And for that I thank this stranger, because he confirmed my belief that the world is not hopeless. That there is still hope as long as there are people like him who still chooses good over evil.
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Oh, I so see your point. I gave up on watching news or reading papers long ago. I’m not ignorant of what is going on, but I prefer to use the Internet to read on what I want to know, and block out everything else.
I’m not even sure if the world is such a hopeless place. Maybe the media just make it look like that. Imagine living in the Middle Ages with people bashing in eachother’s head over the fact that they are from different backgrounds, or robbers and pirates. At least that time people knew only what was going on in their direct environment and did not worry about a robbery 500 miles away.
I have a passion for people and their behavior and find that even the worst people inspire me and teach me something about the world. There is so much good in even the people that are labeled ‘bad’.