This is a test and only a test.  

Someone ripped off my debit card number and started charging purchases against it.  Card's now frozen, so those debits will be stopped, but it's on me to dispute the charges that I didn't make.  No new card until I do that.  

Awesome.  

Now, what was I saying a few days ago about gratitude?  

I found myself taking the usual angry and fearful approach to the situation we are all so familiar with.  You know it ad nauseum.  Wait a minute here, I thought to myself.  Learn your own lesson.  Think and learn.  

So, what does this teach me?  The concrete answer regarding watching out for my security, monitoring my use of my money and debit card goes without saying.  You need to be careful and keep both eyes open for theft, for sure.  The deeper thing it teaches me is that I do have a choice in how I react, how far I spread anger and bitterness.  Or not.  It presents an opportunity to understand myself and what my actions create in the world.  

Of course, I don't like the inconvenience of this, and I have nothing good to say about a coward who steals from people, except one thing:  Their behavior gives me an opportunity to make a choice.  I choose not to jump into a pit of ugliness with them.  I say, let their bad juju be only theirs, their negative karma only theirs, not mine.  I can clearly see I must choose.  

So now that I have contacted my bank and the corrections are being put in place, I am going to make a nice dinner and enjoy this fine evening and think about all the people I love and admire in the world and imagine blessings and beauty surrounding them all.  

I am looking around the room right now.  It's a good room, full of colors and things I like.  The sun is just setting over in the west and neighbors' voices are murmuring outside.  It's peaceful here.  The whole day was fine and I choose to keep it that way.  Free will is that amazing thing that we have inside us.  It's tested in situations like the theft of money from my account, no doubt about that, but the truth is I am grateful I noticed the test instead of rumbling down the ugly road of anger any further than I did.