Thursday, October 01, 2009

The Rules of Life - Part 2

I've got a non-regular, write-'em-as-they-happen series going on the Rules of Life. Rule #1 can be found here. Rule #2 has to do with borrowing. This area of life could probably have a dozen rules of its own. And maybe it will. But for now, I'll stick with one specific thing. I'm sure this has happened to all of us. You go to use something (a tool, a book, a TV remote) and it's not where it's supposed to be. "Supposed to be", of course, is a matter of opinion. How do you decide where something is "supposed to be"? Also, how should everyone else know where the thing is "supposed to be"?

It's really very simple, the thing that you borrow is "supposed to be" where you found it. If you buy the thing or someone gives it to you, you get to decide where the thing is "supposed to be" but when someone else owns it, someone else has decided where it is "supposed to be". This is especially important when the person who owns it doesn't know you are borrowing it. When they go to use it next, they are going to go where the thing is "supposed to be".

Rule of life #2 - When you borrow something, return it to where you found it. Not where you think it should be. Not where someone else tells you to put it. Put it back where you found it. That is where the thing is "supposed to be".

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