Carnal Zen

Karma dictates that we send love into the world.  Even without the promise of reciprocity, I would send good will to all, even to you Mr. Lying-Thieving Mechanic.

 2:00p.m. -  I hung up the phone, relieved.  $82.00 plus towing.  Whew, that little puddle I drove through didn’t break the bank.  I shared the good news with a colleague.

 2:15p.m. - You called again.  Didn’t I know that oil was leaking onto some wire and some manifold.  Well, no, I didn’t, but it’s dangerous and so much cheaper if we fix it now, since we’ve got everything all opened up.  Ok, I guess.  Add $130.00.

 4:30p.m.  You called again.  She’s all done and running great.  How nice, it’d only been towed in at noon.

 5:15pm – That’ll be $714.67.  I’m sorry, what? 

 This is not an original story, and that’s sad.  I’m not to the first to have a car held hostage on repairs that were not needed and labor charges that were deeply duplicative.  This is not suspicion; I’ve had the receipt checked out.  I think I even saw a glimmer of regret, when you realized your profit had cost more than I could afford.  I wish you knew the half of it.  I will endure a summer without Starbucks and happy hours.  I may have to cancel a trip home for the wedding of my childhood friend and complain about ramen noodles, bald tires and a computer that crashes daily.  I am still richer than most.  I know that.  You, driving away in your Mercedes, are not.  My real sorrow comes in knowing that the debt of your morality bankrupts the world.

I chose a non-profit career.  I love it.  I love it even when I have to troll the clearance racks for a pair of jeans I can afford.  I would choose it again if I could.  Not because it makes me better than you, Mr. Mechanic, but because I get to believe in something.   I get to focus on spiritual abundance and be deeply appreciative of loiterers at gas stations who, in tattered pants and brutal heat, change a stranger’s tire and restore hope.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Buddhism, Karmic Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.