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Selflessness … A Fastlane Path?
I bought a stranger lunch today, and two selfish, inconsiderate strangers got nothing.
One was a victim, the other two, opportunists.
Here is how it went down:
I don’t do burgers often, but today, I needed one. After a trip to the oral surgeon and being told that my dental implant will need to be redone for the 3rd time, making this one tooth a 4 year project, I felt compelled to indulge in junk food.
I arrived at the In-And-Out Burger drive-thru and decided the best way to combat the pain of a new, year-long dental ordeal was to do a good deed. I told myself that I would buy lunch for the next 2 cars in line behind me. I’ve done this several times over the years as it’s always fun to play Santa Claus in the most unconventional of places. Heck, I was due for some philanthropic spending anyway — my attendance at church has taken a beating since the NFL season started, if ya know what I mean.
Now, this is where things get complicated. The entrance of the drive-thru line is a T-Intersection.
Eventually, an older women pulled in behind me on one arm of the T and so I had car #1 spotted for my targeted good deed, unbeknown to her. I waited for car #2.
After 60 seconds, another car with two, 20-something girls pull into the other arm of the T and crowd my rear. Good, I thought, there is car #2 — so I have my good deed targets: We have an older woman, probably mid 50’s, and two young girls – the 3 of them will get a nice surprise today, a free lunch, and maybe I can make their day, if not, their hour.
So as the drive-thru line started to move forward I realized an unfolding injustice….
The two young girls started to crowd my bumper, despite the other woman who was clearly there first.
Obviously, these two girls had no intention on acknowledging the other woman, already in line at the opposite end of the T, waiting. As I moved my Toyota forward thru the line, the 2 girls tailgate me within inches, promptly and swiftly cutting-off the older woman.
The older woman let off a cowering honk of her horn just to say “Hey, I was sitting here first!”
The two girls? As I spied my rear view mirror, their response was to laugh and giggle.
Now of course, the occupants of these 2 cars weren’t aware that I was buying them lunch, had they, I wonder, would they have acted differently?
The attitude of the two girls was clear: “We are getting ours and we don’t care who we have to mow down to get it.” Really? Can I deduce this? All from this seemingly innocuous event?
Call it immaturity, selfishness, inconsideration — all are poison pills to a Fastlane.
I don’t know how the older lady felt after being disrespected and laughed at, but I was empowered by the hope that my act would erase whatever she might have been feeling, and perhaps, recast the shadow of this subtle act, with a small light of restoration.
As I pulled up to the cashier, I told him I was also paying for the woman 2 cars behind.
I also told the cashier to inform the 2 girls that were immediately behind me that they lost their free lunch when they decided it was funny to cut off the older woman and laugh about it.
I don’t know if the cashier told them. I don’t know if the older lady appreciated my good gesture. I don’t know and I never will.
I do know, however, that karmic justice is alive and well in the Fastlane.
I grabbed my food and drove home.
MJ
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When I was in my 20's, they laughed and said I was nuts. "MJ! You're dreaming!" Then, I got the last laugh. I retired in my 30's and now live a dream. Those same people now whore their life away for a paycheck only to reclaim their salvation on the weekend. With a correctly executed Fastlane plan, everyday of your life can be your weekend.
How do you know the cashier didn’t just pocket your money and not buy lunch for anybody? haha
Well as I pulled away i did notice that he pointed to my car … so I assume he was telling the lady. But, ya never know these days …
Youre an inspiring guy Mike..
Always good to see Karma working. I only hope the cashier did as you instructed him and that the girls took something away from that little lesson.
Still looking forward to your book!
All the best-Mike
Great story MJ! Karma is, without a doubt in my mind; completely real. The good you put out there will eventually come back to you. Sometimes it might takes years, but it’s worth the wait.
-Andrew
Looks to me like the girls were in a fastlane mentality, not that I wouldn’t consider their behavior distasteful and depending on your definition of “fair”, perhaps unfair.
I think that there is really no such thing as selflessness however. Even so called selfless acts are done in pursuit of your own satisfaction or on an even deeper level, because of the mental reward you expect from doing it. You at that point valued this result more than the money you were putting into it, and since it is you who makes this valuation according to your own measures this translates to a mental benefit for you greater than that of keeping the money.
This is why even though I do believe it is good to give charitably, I don’t believe in altruism nor selflessness. Charitable behavior is still in the realm of selfish behavior. The selfless vs. selfish dichotomy does not exist. ;)
That said, what you did was inspiring. :)