You Gotta Live in the Wheel World – They Say

I went to get my tire plugged this morning, and the guy tells me it’s $15. I said, "Ok." He says, "Cash only." I check my pockets, and I see I don’t have any cash—only a card. I ask him if maybe Zelle or Venmo would work, but no, it’s cash only.

I told him I live around the corner and I’ll bring it in 10 minutes. He says, "No, everyone says that and nobody ever comes back." "There’s an ATM down the block, you can get cash there." I said, "Look at me, do I look like the type of guy to steal $15 from you?" I said, "If you want, put the tire back on, and I’ll come back, and you can plug it when I get back with the cash."

I guess he didn’t want to work twice, and he finally says, "Okay, I’ll change it. But as soon as you’re done, you need to bring the cash to me. 10 minutes he says, wagging his finger!"

He changed it, I went home, and I brought him the $15, then went on my way.

It got me thinking. At first, I thought, "Look at his nationality. These types of people never trust anyone," and I was feeling a very negative energy toward him and his people. I started judging him. But then I thought about it some more and realized how sad his situation is.

This guy is creating his own reality—a reality in which man eats man. The wild jungle. "Never trust anyone. Everyone says one thing and then does another." And you know what? It becomes true for him. That’s his world, and he creates that environment for himself. How, you ask? Read on.

Even though I came and paid him like I said I would, it doesn’t even register. His eyes didn’t light up and say, "Wow, some people actually do keep their word." Not even a "Thank you for keeping your word." Rather, no. Me coming back must have been a fluke, and he long forgot about my world and went back to his own. And he’ll perpetuate that further.

He might blame the whole world for everyone else being so untrusting and lying. He might see everyone as thieves and cheaters, but he doesn’t realize how he himself is the one who creates that reality. He doesn’t see what a trusting person sees. He doesn’t experience what an honest man feels in his heart. And that is a tragedy.

Of course, people steal and lie and don’t pay. But if I create and live in a world where I trust, where I honor my word, where I speak the truth, then I get to see how millions of other people live on this planet. And I get to see the beauty of it all.

The choice is mine.

- איש