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August 2005
Success Harmony Newsletter
"THE HONEST FRUIT STAND"
These days, the news media ensures that we feel afraid of our world. Every day, we see a report of a new bombing in Iraq, another slaying of an innocent kidnapped child, or another little old lady getting robbed of her life savings by an unscrupulous financial advisor. It's no wonder that many of us respond by living behind gates, having unlisted phone numbers, and preferring that our children play mind-numbing video games indoors than venture out to play hopscotch or tag on neighborhood streets.
In this type of environment, it warms my heart when I see someone steadfastly refusing to give in to the mass mistrust. I just came across an example of this in the Catskill Mountains in New York, not too far from our house in the mountains. The house is in the middle of nowhere, which is great for views but a little challenging for buying groceries and other necessities. So, when I came across a new fruit and vegetable stand, I was quite excited. That is, until I became confused when I stopped by in the middle of the day but could not find anyone serving the stand. After looking around for another while, I saw a "self-serve" sign. I assumed that this meant that I should load up with the veggies I wanted, and that eventually someone showed up. I started putting these lovely organic vegetables and fruits in the bags provided by the stand, and then I stopped dead in my tracks as my eyes fell on a cash box. It was an old, beat up metal box with a piggie-bank-like slot in the middle which was unmistakably meant for cash. There was a metal lock on the box but the box itself didn't really seem fastened to anything. After what seemed like an eternity during which my brain was trying to place this event within its experience of the world, I finally understood. This fruit stand really was as self-serve as you could get. You pick what you want. You weigh what you got. You calculate what you should pay, based on the prices written on the boxes. And then, you put in the metal box the amount that you calculated. Easy. Simple.
Wow. With this much trust put in me, I did as I was asked. I ensured I put in the exact amount I owed and I drove off. I had a big smile on my face for the rest of the day, feeling very happy that there was someone left in this world willing to place a bet that, when push comes to shove, most humans will take the honest path. During one of my later visits to the stand, I actually ran into the girl who owns the stand and I asked her how this honor system has been working out for her. She said that most people pay what they should. And, she shrugged her shoulders, if someone really needs the food so badly and can't afford to pay, oh well. She was unwilling to change her systems just because some people wouldn't play along.
This fruit stand has made me think of how much trust I have in the world around me. I don't know that I would be willing to leave out all of my possessions on a street corner just yet (after all, I still wear the "don't you trust nobody" scars from growing up in a country where leaving a car unattended for 10 minutes meant that it would likely be stripped of windshield wipers and hubcaps by the time you got back). But I am doing some things a little differently. Maybe locking the car is unnecessary when I am in the country and really have nothing worth stealing inside anyway. Maybe leaving for 15 minutes to go to a store while the cleaning lady is in the house doesn't automatically mean she will clean out all the drawers in the meantime. So far, I am experimenting with this concept, but I like the results. Somehow, in some small way, I even feel closer to the people around me, strangers and all. And I'm thinking that maybe we don't all need to give in to cutting each other off in life because we fear what that tiny minority of malicious people may do to us.
It reminds me of the John Lennon "Imagine" song. It may sound rather idealistic and even naïve. But what a neat concept to imagine that perhaps we would be willing to let our children play on the streets again rather than hide them in our home fortresses for fear that someone will do something bad to them. What an incredible idea that the number of people who are good and honest really may outnumber the goofs who think violence solves the world's problems or those who cause grief in workplaces when they send out computer viruses or bogus you-know-what medication offers. I remember it said about the Nazi atrocities that the problem wasn't just the evil people doing bad things, but the many regular people doing nothing good. Maybe that's how we can make a difference. By allowing ourselves to trust others just a little more than the news media tell us we should, by becoming the regular people who take action to do good and expect good, maybe we can again make this world the place where keys become unnecessary and streets are again safe and fun for all of us to play in.
Sunshine and smiles,
Pavla
"We
make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
Sir Winston Churchill
"If we had no winter,
the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of
adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
Anne Bradstreet
"Half our fears are baseless;
the other half discreditable."
Christian Bovee