A troubled friend and roommate was the subject of a group conversation. There were some things missing and he was 'accused' of taking them for his personal consumption because he was known to be struggling financially as he sometimes voiced it out.
My heart and prayers go to him because I know how it is exactly to be there.
Many times I heard some of them saying things about him indirectly and at times using a 'code name' which only they themselves could understand. But I could sense it. This is not fair, as everyone not in their circle who could hear this, may feel bad.
We are all responsible for our belongings. It is up to us to protect them, in the same way that we cover our jars and bottles so roaches would not get in.
I saw before my very eyes a person who took some small items from the shared refrigerator, knowing they were not hers. Maybe for her, they were just 'small offenses' because those were small items. For me, when it comes to stealing something, a small item and a big item are the same.
Simple. If it is not yours, do not take it. Or seek permission first to take it from the owner.
Respecting a person's thing/s is respecting the person himself. I was taught and raised that way.
I lost my black pepper powder I refilled in a white plastic dispenser. I did not make any loud noise. Well, it was my fault putting it in an open cabinet. Roughly it costs AED17 (200 grams refill). I could have spent it for a broast chicken meal (fried rice with two pieces of fried chicken).
In the past, when I had a conversation with the landlady, I told her about my experience when I was just starting working here more than a decade ago. If had the chance to go to the supermarket, I bought some of the ingredients I needed for the menu that I would have for a certain day of the week. I spent time on different days to buy the choice cuts of meat or best fishes and fresh vegetables in good form. There was a time when I would cook my desired food, my ingredients were gone and I felt very, very frustrated. One (1) of my bedspacers apologized for her wrong deed and said that she would replace them. In my mind, I appreciated that she apologized for her wrong deed, but it was not the replacing thing. I spent time and money buying them, and I had a program for myself that on this day and time I would cook something I craved for some days or even months. Above that, at least value respect.
That person was listening to my story so the next time she would take another man or woman's sachets of coffee and saw me looking at her without even a wink, the action was stopped. I am a very transparent person. What I feel shows in my eyes.
Then many lies were woven to camouflage some odd things. Smear tactics.
Piers Anthony's lines make sense to me --
When one person makes an accusation, check to be sure he himself is not the guilty one. Sometimes it is those whose case is weak who make the most clamour.True, there are people who can be deceiving as if they had an inventory of this and that, but they take other people's items, and they are the ones who make the most noises like their things were missing. 'Very wise' or sick? I do not know. What I know is they do not respect others. They do not know how one earns money and spends time to buy even the smallest thing so he/she can consume or use it later.
The worse thing? When something is lost and other people accuse the innocent one of an offense he/she did not commit, that wrongly accused person can feel that in the way how others treat him. The negative energy from that very false accusation can be very depressive. They have no idea how it affects their subject's mental health. We hate bullying, but this really happens even among adult people and is committed by those who you expect not to do it, because they consider themselves 'holy' or 'godly' or 'professional' in their fields of endeavor.
If you do not want to lose your thing/s and there are many people in your place, do protect them. What is hidden and secured properly cannot be stolen. You will not feel frustrated as you will not lose your items and other innocent people will not feel bad for your wrong accusation. Likewise you will not influence others to sin by believing in and echoing the same false accusation.
Passionately make a move to secure your things and never, never hurl any accusation of stealing your things to anyone, without witnessing it by your own very eyes. You never know what the accused innocent person is going through at any particular moment when bad thoughts, negative words and cruel actions are directed to him/her.
On a different side, just in case you hear some 'accusations' from anyone, do not just quickly believe it is true. Check the story behind if it matters to you. Do not dignify false accusations. Defend the truth.
If you are the person accused of committing an offense but you know that you are innocent, just be you, be pure, and silently take the high road. When the hot water stops boiling, you are still there, standing unmoved. Remember, always remember, that nobody can put a good man down.
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Photo credits: Pixabay
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