Stolen

A money thief

Stolen

I was walking through a jet-way when my telephone notified me of a call.  I quickly pulled it from my pocket and glanced at the screen.  It was an important call and strangers surrounded me, so I chose not to accept the call right then, continued through the bridge and entered the aluminum tube to my seat.

When I had settled into my seat I returned the call and was shocked at what I heard as a conversation ensued.

“We’ve decided not to pay you . . . “

I was stunned!  I had worked hard to complete the terms of the contract and the transaction was to be completed within one week.  The two following days were miserable, as I struggled to come to terms with what had just happened.  And, as one night darkly crept into the next day I thought of you while coming to a realization.

Everyone has faced loss through theft!  My experience was not unique in any way. And, this one thought reminded me of private notes recorded by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD.

“Never value anything . . . which shall compel thee to break thy promise, to lose thy self-respect, to hate any man. To suspect, to curse, to act the hypocrite, to desire anything which needs walls and curtains”

Marcus Aurelius taught me that a person “lives only in the present time, an indivisible point and that all the rest of his life is either past or it is uncertain.  Short then is the time which every man lives.” 

On this particular morning, the sun rose in the sky and brought my life back with it.  I decided to let the thief steal only my money, not the rest of the brightening day or my life, and to let the following principles, discovered in the past to permit me not to live in the past.

Be pleased and content with what happens.  Each of us can decide to allow gratitude to be firmly planted in our breast so tranquility can be preserved.  True joy comes from knowing you are living each moment on the path toward becoming who you want to become.

Do only justice.  This is different from “getting justice,” which is really just a different way of saying revenge.  Living a just life means you always do what is fair.  Always.  Never deviate from the way, which leads you to the end of your envisioned life.

Let uncertainty work in your favor.  Life can end at any moment and while everything may exist in a state of confusion.  You and I can follow right reason, satisfied with present activity, always ready to depart.

We have it within our power to be free, to remember that we have ultimate control over things inside ourselves, things that can never be taken from us, never stolen.