Just imagine living in a shelter, having no job, having only a bike for transportation – which is in need of fixing – and all of a sudden $3,000 falls into your lap. What would YOU do?
Incredibly enough, Tally brought the bag to a shelter employee – even though he admittedly wrestled with his conscience for a bit to determine what was really the right thing to do. The shelter employee found a flash drive with the laptop which had a resume on it revealing the name and address of the back pack’s owner.
The 21-year old student, Bryan Belanger, had lost his car in an accident and had withdrawn the money to buy another one. He was humbled by Tally’s decision.
He reportedly shared, “It's a lesson in keeping your faith in people. You can have character, regardless of your circumstances.”
In the end, Mr. Tally was reported to have just been glad he could do the right thing.
As an addendum to that story, money began coming in to Tally following national news coverage. He’s been able to fix his bike so he can go on job interviews.
In an article entitled "OF WHAT AUTHORITY DO WE JUDGE ANOTHER" on her website, Grandmother Parisha wrote, “There is only love. Man is basically good.”
In an age where we are inundated with daily reports of violence and heinous crimes committed against innocent people, here is an example of one person who knew in his heart that the only course of action for him to take when all was said and done was “the right thing.” Tally shared that he knew he had to give the money back because it wasn’t his.
How often to we find ourselves in similar circumstances, with far less at stake – or so we think? What is the “price” of integrity? What self-deceptions might we use to justify when we take credit for a colleague’s idea or project; when we find something that we know doesn’t belong to us but we don’t make the effort to locate the true owner?
That back pack didn’t have any obvious identification in it. Many would have then said, “Oh well, finder’s keepers.” But Tally went the extra distance to find out who it belonged to. Oh sure, he’s received some “rewards" from the resulting notoriety gained by his actions, but his real reward happened when he faced his demons and said, No. I’m not going to give in to greed or selfishness. I’m going to give it back.
A powerful example from a man with “nothing.” Actually, when you have your integrity intact, noting else really matters.
for more information go to: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1119/california_laptop.html©2010 Deborah Adler. All rights reserved.
