Wrestling with a Leap of Faith? Let me show you how I did it.
A true story about a random act of kindness
What is a leap of faith? It’s believing something that is outside the boundaries of reason.
Like believing in the kindness of strangers. Let me give you a good example.
I normally hire a car driven by a local driver called Budi to get around Bali (where I’m sitting out the current pandemic).
Budi is a very nice guy who charges very reasonable prices. But since everything is shut during the pandemic I haven’t been going many places. Neither has anyone else. The economy in Bali which is almost entirely tourism-based has collapsed.
And my driver Budi has had absolutely no income for months.
So one day a complete stranger messages me saying,
"I want to send Budi some money. The easiest and safest way would be by bank transfer. Please let me have your bank details and full name. Pollie"
Huh?!
This sure looks like a scam if ever I’ve seen one!
Or could such a random act of kindness really be genuine?
I highly doubt it!
I’m getting dizzy with all the suspicious thoughts and fraudulent scenarios that swirl round my head.
I hum and haw… I really want to support Budi. He doesn’t know how to feed his family and definitely needs help.
People like him live so simply they don’t have the necessary means to open a bank account or be sent money through Western Union… If “Pollie” is actually real then this would be the only way he can receive her support.
- So I decide to take a leap of faith.
I decide to believe in this random act of kindness.
I give Pollie my bank details.
I’m dreading to find my account electronically emptied by some clever trickery any minute now. Well and if that happens I’ll really only have myself to blame!
But to my surprise none of my money vanished at all. Instead some substantial new funds appear in my bank account – sent by Pollie!
Later Pollie told me that after she had transferred money to me she thought how stupid she had been to send a substantial amount to a complete stranger. At the very least she really should have sent a smaller amount first to see if Budi would actually receive it….
But receive it he did!
As soon as the money was credited to my account I went to the nearest ATM, got the cash out, texted Budi – and few hours later he had the cash in his hands.
The look on his face was a mix of joy and disbelief that he could be so lucky and randomly receive an act of kindness.
But it was really Pollie and me who couldn’t quite believe our luck to have stumbled across a kind trustworthy stranger.
Our decision to take a leap of faith and trust one another had paid off and we managed to support a mutual friend in need.
Budi received one month worth of rent money that day. And Polly and I received a great boost in our faith in humanity.
