I was walking home from my workplace. It was a very cloudy evening with some light breeze flowing. I see a 5 dollar bill (In US, a note is called a Bill, Bill is called a Check and a Cheque.....well it's still a check!!! Why do they have to do things differently??) laying down on the road.
That note or bill whatever we like to call it, made me think! And I'll be honest with you, I did take it and put into my pocket after some thought. Now before you label me into 'categories' that are unpleasant to hear, let me put down the possible scenarios that could have happened (or what I thought could happen).
Best Case: Someone who really really needs the money would get it. Now this is a really really rare case. I live in Raleigh and most of the beggars in this area are at Moore square which is 5 miles away. I've never seen a beggar in my complex, so that makes it even more rare. It could be that some college student needs it to get home, but the transportation system is free so that is ruled out.
Most probable case: The bill would have blown by the wind in the forest nearby and nobody would have got that.
Second most probably case: Someone just like me would have passed by and took it. 5 dollars is not a big amount but it's money nonetheless!
An unrealistic scenario: The person who dropped the bill picks it up again. How rare is that!
Another scenario: Somebody would have picked up the bill and used it for charity or some good work. I do not know how much good work can be done in 5 dollars. But I do know that that someone could just be me!
One more reasoning: Think that I played some Roulette and ended up winning that 5 bucks. Luck as we call it!
Now 5 dollars is not a big amount and I am no thief. Had I known who the money belonged to, I would have surely returned it. I ended up spending that 5 dollar note to buy a pack of chocolates to keep in my office common room for people to have during the break.
At the back of my mind, I was still thinking. What if that amount was big, lets say 100 dollars, 500 or 2000 dollars. At what point would I have kept the money to myself. What point could have caused greed to kill the senses.
Frankly speaking, I do not know. And I do not wish to know. Life is good the way it is!
