I will resume posting new chapters from Flawed Genius on September 7, 2025.
This is an everyman's update of Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled." Peck's book, published in 1978, is widely considered a masterpiece. It explores how we confront and solve problems.
Chapter Thirty-One
WE PAY FOR EVERYTHING WE GET
And Give
How many of us think we can get something for nothing? Think the man who robs a bank and does not get caught pays no price for the money he takes?
On some level, most of us know we do not get anything for nothing, but many people do not live by this principle. I am one of these people. I have said "No" to my finagling self for decades now, yet the impulses are still there.
About thirty years ago, I owed our mortgage company $170 for four megabytes of RAM for my then-new computer. I had been paid three times since incurring the debt. Each time, I pushed what I owed to the company aside. Finally, I saw my behavior clearly and paid for what I received with my next paycheck. What was going on? I was finagling, avoiding my responsibility.
My level of awareness has expanded over the years. I had more work to do then and still some now.
How much work a person needs to do in this area—and when they do it—rests on the recognition of their debts. Our awareness level does not change the principle of paying for what we get. Not knowing does not excuse a debt. Ignorance of the law in our society does not relieve us of being responsible for our actions. This same principle applies to spiritual laws. There is no cop to arrest us, or court to answer to, for our spiritual debts in the physical world. Instead, we live our debts. Working to expand our awareness will enable each of us to better see how our actions are coming back to us.
When I first studied spiritual laws, I lived in San Francisco. One day, Jane and I went to buy earring and necklace making supplies. The woman who owned the supply house was rude, and her prices were high. When she put two items in my bag without ringing them up, I smiled to myself. "Serves her right," I whispered to Jane. I had saved four dollars.
Leaving the store, we walked under an overhead section of the freeway on the way back to my car. A bird pooped on my shoulder. The cost to clean my jacket, $3.75 plus tax, was the same amount of money I had "saved" in the jewelry supply house. The incident nagged at me for a week until I made the connection.
A few years later, I was talking on the phone to a different girlfriend. Suddenly, she asked if I wanted to go to a movie. "When?" I said. "Now. I just remembered I have six movie coupons that cost four dollars each, and they expire tonight. It's after 8:00 now, so we would have to go to a 10:00 show."
Too tired for a late movie, I declined, but said, "Why don't you run over to the mall and surprise the last six people in line with free tickets. You would make them happy and avoid wasting your twenty-four bucks, too." My friend deflected my suggestion.
Ten minutes later, I again approached the subject by saying, "Imagine how happy we would be if someone gave us free tickets." My friend agreed but did not want to make the effort. She's missing a wonderful opportunity, I thought. Soon, we said grumpy good-byes. My heart had closed down.
I slept fitfully. The next morning, sitting quietly in contemplation, I realized that if giving away the tickets was so important to me, I should have done so myself. Maybe I am the one with an issue about giving, I thought.
An hour later, the phone rang. I listened to a young man tell me that if I signed up for one or more magazine subscriptions, 12.5% of the money would go to the Special Olympics. My "gift" to my friend the night before had just come back to me. I had a strong urge to send money to the charity to pay for the grief I had caused my friend.
"I don't need the magazines," I told him, "but I can send you a check for $25, which would be the equivalent of $200 in magazine subscriptions." I chose the dollar amount without thinking about it.
The telemarketer was surprised but gladly gave me the charity's address. I wrote the check and mailed it that day. My cash flow was low. Since I was not sure when I would be paid next, $25 was more than usual for me.
Later, another friend pointed out with a grin that interest had already begun to accrue on my debt. The tickets in question had cost $24. A day later, my bill was up to $25. Grateful for the awareness and to pay my debt quickly, I called my girlfriend and apologized for being grouchy and judging her. We laughed at my expense.
We pay for what we get and give, including if, like me, we give grief. When we pay attention to what we want and what we do to get it, we open our awareness and become more able to guide ourselves in an uplifting direction.
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Great piece! I’ve been aware of that “karmic debt” idea for years. I have made people happy after discovering I’d been undercharged for something (a meal or other service or item) and paid the correct amount anyway. This is a lesson that I only became attuned to after many years of gaining wisdom as I matured. ;-)