A few years ago, we were celebrating Zach’s birthday over Memorial Day Weekend as we always do. Pre-COVID these festivities were well attended by as many of his “VIP” favorite people as we could arrange to be there. VIPs range from neighbors to cousins, grandparents, nurses, teachers and same aged peers that he knew from school.
We would often joke about the distance traveled by Zach’s loved ones just to be with him when we marked another miraculous year of his life. I think the current record would have to be held by his Auntie who lives in Seattle but there are close seconds, coming from Florida and other far-away places.
Orchestrating a cookout, and campout for a large amount of people is a lot of work! Fortunately everyone pitches in, and on this particular day, I’d asked a friend to pick up the sheet pizzas so I didn’t have to go out. She did just that and they were a hit as always! But a few days later, when I asked what I owed her, she stated that she thought they were paid for, so she hadn’t spent any money.
Oops. Certainly, serving a bunch of sheet pizzas to our loved ones that were not paid for, would not be a karmic move that could stand. We laughed about it, and I headed over to the shop to make them whole.
When I did, you’d think I’d walked in on water or something. First, the clerk was confused and said she couldn’t take any money without a ticket. The ticket was long gone, probably burnt up in the bonfire at the party, or was sitting in a pile of garbage that we’d taken to the county dump when cleaning up post celebration. Either way, she was not able to take my money. So I asked to speak to a manager.
When I explained what had happened, she said she would write up a new ticket and asked what we had ordered. I gave her cash and turned to leave. She stopped me and said something like “You know, most people would have kept the pizza and never thought about coming back to pay.” And I realize that she was probably right.
But I don’t care about “most people” since I don’t have to live with them. I have only to live with myself and my moral compass of right and wrong. If I hadn’t gone back, no one would have been the wiser. Yet, I knew somewhere deep down, that when we inflict poor judgment on the world, it comes back to us, like a boomerang looking to land.
As Gary Zukav says in Universal Human, all of our intentions are heard and answered. If we cheat on an exam, that betrayal will be sent back to us. Maybe we get it a decade later, and it is in the form of a spouse cheating on us, or some financial scam where our trust is violated. Gary says, our messages are not read. They are not judged. They are only delivered. Right back to us, the sender.
So yes, I paid for the pizza! And even though I can’t say what could have “happened” later on in my life if I didn’t, the pep in my step I felt in doing what felt like the right thing, was enough reward for me to know that I can trust my instincts regardless of what “most” people might do in the same situation.
Are there any debts you have outstanding? Do you owe someone money? Time? Attention? Gratitude? Forgiveness? Love? Maybe we don’t consider these types of balance sheets as debts, when they aren’t in sync. But my experience is that they need to be paid, just the same.
At the very least, the next time you find yourself with an opening to “let things slide” or to do the thing you know is kind, loving and just, imagine you are making a choice about the message you are sending to yourself. And know that whatever you choose, the Universe will deliver it.