I got robbed once. It was overseas. We came home one night to find out someone had been inside our home and taken off with some of our possessions.
The consolation was that no one was home when it happened and therefore, no one’s safety was put at risk.
I remember my first feelings of frustrations. I felt angry and sorry for myself. “Why did something like this have to happen to me?”.
I lost my newly received laptop and a few articles of jewellery such as my only pair of cuff links and a few other similar souvenirs.
What helped me get over the incident emotionally was this.
– I accumulated those possessions in an honest manner.
– At the end of the day, they were merely possessions. Material things of only financial value (except for the info that was on my laptop).
– No one was injured or had their life put at risk during the theft because we were not at home.
– All the material things can be recovered.
So I decided that I would purchase back every single item that was stolen. Each new item would be a reminder to me that I’m an honest person and anything I have has either been passed onto me as a gift or earned through my work.
The satisfaction comes when you purchase those things. Sure, you can’t do it all at once but over time and one by one you try to buy everything back. Letting go of the anger of the event is also relieving. Many – including myself – at some stage believe revenge would be a just result. To think like this is nothing but a waste of time and (negative) energy. In all likelihood, the fact that someone has robbed you could mean that they needed those things more than you did.
I’m pretty spoiled in this world. No point crying over a laptop. These things happen. If nothing else, you can take away some simple lessons. Engage in better security measures, write down all the identifiers your laptop has in case it does show up one day. Back-up your data regularly. The cuff links I had weren’t rare or even that impressive. The jewellery I lost is easily replaceable with something nicer.
In summary, we’ve all been robbed, will get robbed or have lost things of value. We should value the important things such as our health and the way we spend our time. All the possessions we own are just objects that we are borrowing while we are alive.
