A Matter Of Principle

In life, every experience comes with a lesson. Whether it is a good experience or a bad experience, we can always learn something from it. It is up to us to choose whether to ignore these lessons or make the best out of them. Experiences are great teachers, we learn from them, both big and small. For example, a 10-year-old boy starts learning how to ride a bicycle. He passes a rough road, falls, and realizes that the road is not good for bicycles. Surely, he’ll learn from that experience not to pass that road again or else he wants to be stubborn. We learn lessons not only from our mistakes but also from our successes. When we make mistakes, we can learn from them and try not to repeat them. Similarly, when we succeed, we can learn from the right things we did. Ask yourself these questions; what right thing did I do? How and why did it work out for me? How can I apply these strategies to other areas of my life? Experiences make us grow and become wiser if we give them a chance. For day 3 of the Inleo prompts, we are asked to discuss the important lessons we have learnt so far.

We are three months into 2025, and I have learnt so many lessons since this year started. Every month comes with unique lessons, and I have been making good use of them. Out of the important lessons I have learnt since this year began, the one that stands out is to always return what belongs to you, whether or not you get rewarded. Have you ever been in a situation where you found something that belongs to someone else, it could be something fancy or small. Sometimes we might feel not to return it, especially if it is something nice and fancy. However, there's a beautiful feeling that comes with returning it and putting a smile on the person’s face. Maybe that thing is precious to them and they’d been looking for it for days.

Growing up, in my high school, one of the snack sellers had a habit of giving you more change. For example, if you bought something and your change was #50, she might give you double that amount. I'm not sure if she had problems with mathematics or if her memory was a little fuzzy. Students took advantage of her- only a few were good enough to tell her about it. I was always part of the few people. I'd never reap someone of their hard-earned money. I always think about the effort they put into their businesses. I'm sure that woman had kids to raise at home. Reaping her of her little money would be so unfair. It is all thanks to my parents fir raising me properly.

Last month, I decided to get books for myself on my birthday. A few days before that day, I went out to get them. The first bookshop I checked didn't have the books I wanted. Plus, I’d read most of the novels they had. I checked a few more bookshops before I finally got to a small bookstore. Unlike the others, the bookshop owner, a woman, had many amazing and fancy-looking books. More importantly, she had the genres I wanted. So many books caught my attention, but I ended up choosing three. I planned to buy two books, but I didn't want to leave any behind, so I bought three. I paid for them, and the woman packed the books, and then I left. It wasn't until I had gone far that I realized the woman had mistakenly packed an extra book. That one was beside the ones I bought, so she probably thought I had bought it too.

Although I had gone far, I went back to the bookshop and returned the book. She was happy and thanked me. Just when I was about to leave, she called me back and told me to pick any extra book of my choice. I was really shocked. Like, “Are you for real?” So, I picked one and thanked her generously. Note that I did not return the book because I wanted anything from her. I returned it because it was the right thing to do. I wanted to go back to thank her again, but unfortunately, things didn't go my way.

This is my entry to the Inleo prompts for day 3. The topic is: What important lessons have you learnt so far? Share the story involved.

All images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.