Lessons that a lost wallet taught me
A couple of days ago, amidst the hustle and bustle of the festive season, my brother in law chanced upon a wallet, as he was walking by. Thankfully for the person who lost their wallet, my brother in law is a good soul. Despite it being a busy day, he went to huge lengths to find the owner.
It involved calling one of the banks with the help of a credit card found in the wallet, and convincing them of his authenticity. In a world of scepticism, it is hard to trust anyone. Luckily, since he was a premium client of the same bank, they obliged and provided him with the contact number of the person whose wallet lay in his hand.
My brother in law contacted the guy, who was beyond grateful, and arrived promptly to pick it up.
Typically, it is hard to find something as precious as a lost wallet, in times where need, greed and many other such vices take precedence. Needless to say, the guy thanked my brother in law profusely and went about his day probably sending positivity and heaving a big sigh of relief.
In case you’re wondering, ‘Ok happy ending and all that. What does one have to learn from this?’ It’s not the obvious… ‘Be careful with your wallet’. This goes beyond that.
I’m getting to that part…..
We often have the most precious things tucked away in our wallets. Cash, debit and credit cards, photos of our family, id proof cards and so much more. It is heart breaking to lose it all in an instant - to then call banks, cancel cards and apply for new ones, amidst the angst and self blame brewing within.
Yes, there are terrible people in the world who may find your wallet and do with it as they may. But there are good souls in the world too, who want to go out on a limb to help you, like my brother in law chose to.
What would have been simple for him though, would be the presence of an identification card carrying the name and contact number of the owner of the wallet. He could have saved precious time by simply contacting the owner directly rather than going through the whole horse and pony show of contacting the bank and verifying his identity and authenticity. Not many would follow through…that’s a fact.
So here’s what would be a great idea. This will only take a minute. Find a small piece of card paper and clearly write the following:
This wallet belongs to:
Name —
Contact number —
Tuck it into the main sleeve of your wallet. Extra points for laminating it.
Let’s hope you never lose your wallet. But if you happen to, let’s hope the person who finds it, wants to return it to you and does so, simply because you took a minute to make sure it came back to you — it’s rightful owner.
