Silver Tray

Today when I was walking to work I saw something out of the corner of my eye tucked away under some leaves on the side of the road.  I walked over to it and could see silver peaking out at me.  I brushed away some of the leaves and there in front of me was a silver tray.  It looked so real.  It had ornate designs on the handles and sides of the tray.  I started to think to myself, this is amazing, the price of silver is so high right now.

Then I reached down and picked by the try and to my disappointment, it was made of a heavy silver plastic.  It was discolored on the bottom and obviously had been there for some time.  I was disappointed as I dropped the tray back where I found it and continued my walk. 

I started to think about what I would of done with all the money I would of made if the tray had been real.  The bills that I could pay or I could use it as savings for a new car.  So many things rushed through my head as I continued my walk up Millbrook.  As I turned onto Six Forks road, it hit me.  Would I have kept that tray, sold it, and kept the money?  It wasn't mine, it belonged to another person.  Someone would have lost that very expensive tray and I would of calmed it as my own.  I mean I found it, why wouldn't I get to keep the money.

The more I thought about it the true answer came into my head.  I would of taken that tray and tired somehow to find the rightful owner, whether it was taking it to the police or putting some sort of ad on craigslist.  I would of made a huge effort to find the rightful owner. 

I think in a lot of ways we all have a tendency to have that first reaction when we find something, whether it is money or jewelery or something expensive.  We want to keep it for ourselves because we think we deserve it, but then we come to our senses and realize that it isn't ours and we need to do the right thing.  We need to find the rightful owner.

We work hard for the things and money that we have.  What we want someone to do if we lost something?  We would want it back.  That's the key to it all, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  So the next time you find a silver tray, try to make sure you get it back to its rightful owner!