At one time I put my car in to have service and based on the quote I’d been given I was expecting a large bill. When I picked up my car later that day I was delighted to find that the bill was $600 less than I expected and assumed that my car didn’t need as much work done.
A couple of days later I noticed that one of my tyres was really black and I wondered if the mechanic had put some blacking agent on it, but as I walked around my car I noticed that all of my tyres looked brand new. When I saw my dad on the weekend I asked him to check out my tyres to see if they were new and he said, ‘There is no doubt, there is no wear on the tread, these are brand new tyres’. When I told him that I hadn’t asked for them, or paid for them, and that I thought the mechanic had given them to me as a random act of kindness Dad said, ‘No-one would do that. There has to be some mistake. Maybe he put someone else’s tyres on your car’.
That’s when doubt set in and I started to question. Should I thank the mechanic and embarrass myself if he really didn’t mean it? Should I offer to pay for the tyres? Do I come across as poor? As I tossed these possibilities over in my mind I became aware, once again, at how easy it is to resist receiving and most of the time that is because our ego gets in the way.
I chose to accept the gift graciously but rang the mechanic to thank him. He said, ‘Tyres, what new tyres? I didn’t put new tyres on your car.’ He looked embarrassed, while at the same time he was grinning from ear to ear. I later found out that this man is known for buying old cars, doing them up, then giving them to people in need.
That man’s kindness not only made my day, it made my week and possibly my month. Every time I think about it, even now, I feel good.
It’s important for all of us to learn to receive graciously, when we do this we feel good and then we pass those feelings of goodwill along to others. We shift our focus off what is wrong with the world, people, or in our own lives and onto what is good. Since then I’ve noticed how often people are kind to me.
Give by all means and at the same time be open and receptive to receiving from unexpected sources.