Saturday, January 3, 2009

There is Danger in Opportunity


There is a Chinese character that has a double meaning. The character means both danger and opportunity.

The other day I accidentally left my car keys in the ignition while filling up with gas. To make matters worse, I entered into the gas station. A guy with my background simply doesn't do that. Oops. Often crime is an opportunity. Keys in vehicle equals free vehicle to some.

Right after filling up I drove down the road to get a Subway sandwich for lunch. I parked, went inside (bringing my keys, of course), and ordered some grub. The lady ordering in front of me went to pay for her sandwich then realized she left her money in the car.

This was a dangerous opportunity for me. Why? Because I thought I should secretly pay for her sandwich while she was gone to her car, and I could have gotten caught! It was a non-crime of opportunity.

It's odd going out of your comfort zone, I guess that's why it's called a COMFORT zone. But I made a commitment to myself long ago that when my heart speaks, I'd not only only take good notes, but I'd go out of my way to ACT.

Serving others is pretty wonderful, especially when it can be done anonymously.

I'm quite older now, but when I paid for the lady's meal, I recalled my Eagle Scout days. The Boy Scout slogan is, "Do a good turn daily." It was nice to do a good deed. There might not always be old ladies to help cross the street, but occasionally there are opportunities--even dangerous ones. Those are the moments to seize.

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