Karma

Nancy and I spent the weekend near Boone, NC. On Saturday we hopped on the motorcycle and went for a ride. We rode up the Blue Ridge Parkway, and stopped in Boone for lunch. Murphy's restaurant seemed like a good place. We parked the bike, walked inside and sat down to order our lunch.

As we ate, we noticed dark clouds forming, and we heard thunder over the ridge of the mountains. We knew that wasn't a good sign, but what can you do? Nancy noticed a car with the windows rolled down. She asked out waiter if he knew whose car that was. His response sparked a rather interesting conversation:

Waiter: "Yes, that's my boss's car. We're not going to tell him!"

Me: "Why not?"

Waiter: "He was mean to us today. He cursed at us for basically doing what we were supposed to do."

Me: "Hmm, that's too bad."

Waiter: "Yeah - that's karma. When you do something negative, that negativity comes back on you."

Me: "Really? So by doing something negative (not telling your boss that his windows are down and it's about to rain) aren't you worried about karma coming back on you?"

Waiter: "No, when someone is mean, exudes negativity, then it comes back on you. I'm just not telling him about his windows, I'm not actually doing anything negative to him."

Nancy spoke up: "But if you know something bad is going to happen, and you don't say anything about it, then you are doing something negative."

I added: "If you know to do good, and you don't do it, that is not a good thing."

He smiled, with a bit of a perplexed look on his face, turned and walked away. A few minutes later he came back by the table with a big smile on his face. "I told my boss about his windows."

Has It Come to This?

Last Friday we decided to drive up to Concord Mills Mall for a day of window shopping. We stopped along the way to fill up with gasoline. We hit the road again, and within about 5 minutes the engine shut down. I pulled off on a side street, tried to restart, nothing happened.

So I called the tow truck, had the van towed to the shop and waited for the devastating news. How much was this going to cost? What was wrong?

About 3 hours later the call came in. "Mr. Janes - do you have any known enemies?"

"No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it appears that someone disconnected a fuel line. There is no way this fuel line can come undone on it's own. It had to be done manually."

"And why would someone disconnect a fuel line?"

"They may have tried stealing some gas."

So, it's come to that. People are stealing gas out of my car in my driveway. What is wrong with you people? Are we so desperate for fuel that we have to steal it? It's not that expensive!

O well, what can you do. Maybe I'll buy a dog and chain him to the car at night.

Who Should You Blame?

I've been reading a book recently called "Do You Know how to Shut Up?" Michael Staver offers 52 short lessons on ways to improve yourself as you interact with those around you, whether at work, home, or wherever you are.

Today I read chapter 11 - Who Should You Blame? I'd like to share that with you today:

From the time we are very young, we engage in a game of blame. As a child, you probably answered your parents' questions about why you did something with "Everybody does it!" or "Because so-and-so did it!" or "So-and-so made me do it!" If you have kids of your own, you've probably heard the same words. And it's not only kids. How often do we hear adults blame their environment, the market, their significant other, their heredity, or some other entity for their problems?

I suggest that this is an enormous waste of energy and, in most cases, it doesn't matter who is to blame. I love this statement: "It's not your fault, but it is your problem!" I heard those words from Doug at Long Realty Company who thinks it might have come from his coworker Theresa. I am not sure who to blame (or credit) for this phrase, but I like it! I would counsel you to forget who or what is to blame and get on with the business of dealing with the problem.

What do you think? Should we find someone to blame, or just take responsibility and concentrate on getting the job done?