A few months ago, some loyal followers may remember that I wrote about a Good Samaritan at Pike & Rose who went out of her way to return my wallet.  She spied it sitting on the ground.  Rushed to my house to return it.  And refused to take any reward or credit for her act.  Glorious.

This weekend, the wallet gods struck back.

In the wee hours of the morning this Saturday, someone thought it would be a super idea to break into my car and steal my wallet out of the front console.  I awoke early that morning to a cacophony of text alerts for fraudulent charges across several different credit cards.  Happy Labor Day Weekend!

I immediately ran outside to survey the damage.  The car was a littered mess.  They had callously strewn the contents of the glove compartment and console into the backseat and across the lawn.  A mini-tornado had struck the inside of my car.

In that moment, a flood of emotions and negative thoughts rolled over me like a rogue wave of anger.  How could someone do this?  Why had someone only targeted me? How could I go on with my day? 

I felt all alone.

But at my lowest moment, the community stepped up with support.  Neighbors expressed genuine empathy and concern.  Multiple service organizations helped me restore my credit cards and missing items.  Reports of other car vandalism in the neighborhood diminished my isolation.

New thoughts replaced the feeling of desperation.  I wasn’t the only one going through a rough patch.  Empathy and concern exist in the community.  There are far more people who will return my wallet than steal my wallet.  And, in the overall grand scheme of things, losing a wallet is not the worst problem to overcome.

Empathy and perspective are powerful antidotes to the feelings of victimization and isolation.  And couldn’t we all benefit from keeping this in mind in our every day lives?

We Are Never Alone

In our work lives, there are pitfalls all around us.  An unethical colleague who will try to angle us out of a deal.  An unscrupulous client who will try to drag us down to their level.  An overbearing boss who will try to intimidate us.  An unruly student who will upset the balance of the classroom.  A disgruntled player who will infect the chemistry team.

But not everyone is against us.  There is an entire support structure of empathy and unity that we need to embrace.

We need to seek out those colleagues who value collaboration.  We need to hold true to our moral compass.  We need to stand up for ourselves when we are under attack.  We need to root out negativity and dissension in the classroom and on the field.

We need to realize that we are not alone. 

Fight the Negativity

The same is true in our personal lives.  Stressful moments and struggle can bring out the worst in people.  We can clash with a family member. We can argue with a spouse or child.  Our friends and heroes can let us down.  The feeling of isolation is real.  At times, our lives can resemble the littered mess of a ransacked car.

But we can’t go down the rabbit hole with these negative feelings.  We can’t adopt an “us vs. them” mindset.

We have to realize that there are two sides to every argument.  Everyone is going through some type of struggle.  Everyone expresses fear and anxiety in different ways.  We need to step back and approach these conflicts with empathy and perspective.

For every battle, there is a resolution.  For every disagreement, there is a compromise.  For every disappointment, there is unconditional understanding.

Keep the Faith

We do not live in a fairy tale world.  Not everyone has our back.  Not everyone raises us up in our darkest moments.  Not everyone cares about our welfare and well-being.  Not everyone returns our wallet from the sidewalk.

We cannot be Pollyannaish in our approach to our lives.

But neither can we let our disappointments and conflicts negatively impact our perspective on the world.

There are people who would do anything for us in this world.  There are people who would run through brick walls to make sure we are safe.  There are people who will always have our back in any situation.

And when we recognize this powerful truth, we can approach our minor tragedies, disappointments, and conflict with empathy and perspective.

The fact is, most people will see a wallet on the ground and return it to the rightful owner.  But not everyone.  Some people will break into our car and take our wallet in the middle of the night.

But we can’t worry about those people.  We have our trusted inner circle.  They will always be there for us.  They will provide us with empathy and perspective. They will see us through any setback or disappointment.

The wallet gods are fickle.  Sometimes they giveth, sometimes, they taketh away.

We just have to keep the faith.

Until next week, keep smiling.