09 Oct 2019 I Will Never Know Her Name
I will never know her name
It was a frantic Sunday afternoon, just ten days before I was headed to London, England.
First, I went to the nearest Police Station to report what had just happened to me. Then I drove back to my apartment at the highest legal speed. Once at my desk, I made a few important phone calls, without which I could not “meet” Monday morning.
Just a couple of hours earlier, I was sitting on a bench along the boardwalk of one of the most beautiful small towns on the South Jersey Shore – Cape May. I was enjoying a sunny early summer day, watching the people walk by couples in love, young families with joyful toddlers, older people taking a slow stroll. I was determined to soak it all in and relax ahead of an intense week.
As I set down on that bench, I felt my wallet in my back pocket. Since I did not want to “sit on it”, I took it out and placed it by my side on the bench. I made a firm mental note to remember to pick it up once I was ready to leave.
And sure enough, three minutes after I left the bench, I turned around and ran back like a “mad man”, but it was too late. The wallet was nowhere to be found. After 30 minutes of asking passers-by and searching in trash cans, I gave up and went to the Police Station. Once at home, I called to cancel all my credit cards and asked American Express to rush-ship me a new card in time for my London trip.
On Monday morning, I went to the DMV with my Passport and got myself a new driver’s license. Only once firmly in my hand, could I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I will be able to go on my business trip after all.
My Amazing Dream
On my last night in London, I had an amazing dream. In it, I saw myself in very vivid details, arriving back at my apartment building at the end of a long day. “Hey Uri,” said Michael, the reception person. “You have a package.” In my dream, I saw myself opening the brown padded envelope, and inside that envelope was my lost wallet.
I do not remember most of my dreams. But this one I remembered clearly. “What a strange dream,” I said to myself the next morning. It was the day I was flying back home to Philadelphia, and I had to focus on getting ready for the flight. So, I put the dream aside – placing it on my special mental shelf labeled: “dreams to remember later.”
A Dream Come True
A couple of days after my return, as I was walking through the lobby towards the elevators, I heard Michael, our reception person, calling my name: “Hey Uri. You have a package.”
As Michael held his hand out, it was holding a brown envelope of exactly the same size and color as the one in my dream. “This can’t be happening,” I remember saying to myself.
But it did. As I put my hand into the envelope, I felt the familiar texture of my beloved wallet. I pulled it out, and to my complete amazement, the $160.00 in cash were firmly lodged in the second compartment, just as I placed them in there. So we’re all the credit cards, driver license, etc.
She or he did not even take the money to pay for mailing me my precious wallet.
“Who is this person?” I asked myself.
But I would never come to know the answer, as she or he did not leave a return address or a note. NOTHING.
Heart-Warming Altruism
Ever since that day, whenever I need to uplift my spirits and remind myself that there is still some goodness left in our world, amid all the madness, I think about my wallet, and about the person, I will never come to know.
***********************
If you found this real-life story worth sharing, please feel free to do so.
If you’d like to discuss how Executive Coaching might benefit you and/or your team members, please contact me at Uri@thewilltochange.com
You are also invited to visit my leadership Blog: https://thewilltochange.com//blog-and-tools/execu-blog/
Warm regards,
Uri
