Honesty – A random Act

Last Friday after my lunch, I encountered an “random act of honesty” that I did not think would exist in today’s work environment, especially in a large work environment campus that I happen to work in. I was thinking about this all weekend and was wondering, “what would I do?”  After a few moments of back and forth, I said I would have done the same, in that situation.

I had a check for approx $60 in my jeans pocket that I needed to deposit. Of course, I had put my iPhone in the same pocket. As luck would have it, when I took my iPhone out, I dropped my check. Didn’t know where, or how, but I knew it was gone.

I wasn’t about to backpedal to the 1 mile walk I had just come from, so I was resigned to the fact that $60 check was not in my destiny. I walk into my office and on my screen I see an instant message from one of the 5000 colleagues that I work with in my campus style environment. Vasant had had found my check in the cafeteria and had gone out of his way to find me on the Intranet. Wow! He said “He found my check and wanted to return it to me, and I could pick it up from him whenever I wanted to”.

I was just astounded by this act of “random honesty” as I didn’t think this kind of honesty didn’t exist anymore. I had written off the lost check as carelessness on my behalf.

I picked up my check and I offered Vasant a simple reward and he of course politely declined, saying it was not big deal! For me it was.

Even the check was for a small amount, Vasant could have easily cashed the check and had a few lunches at my expense, but he went out of his way to do the right thing. I commend him on that. I told my family about this “random act of honesty” and as usual they were non-plussed. They felt that I deserved to have lost the check.. 🙂

I said to myself, I’ll try to pass on this honesty when the opportunity presented it self. Last night, I went food shopping and as I pulled into a parking slot,  I found a dollar bill on the floor. Obviously, this was such a tiny amount that pursuing the driver who lost this dollar was out of the question, as he/she was long gone. So who would I turn in this dollar bill in place of the rightful owner,.

Not knowing what to do.. I folded the dollar bill and put it in my wallet. I figured, if I can’t give it back to the right owner.. I’d at least hold on to it and give it next random owner who needed it more. One thing I do know, I will not spend this dollar as it’s rightful owner is not me.

What do you think I should do with the dollar?