What I learned from getting scammed.
It was a day unlike any other. I would find out it was a day I would forever be grateful for.
I was in a rush. I was overwhelmed. And all of a sudden, I was scared.
My thoughts that day had been on maybe getting a new car—whether fixing mine would cost more in the long run than buying another used one. That quickly went out the window when I received a very convincing call. I was told I would go to jail if I didn’t pay the government for missing jury duty.
I was caught off guard, and that’s what they love.
Long story short, I went to the bank and withdrew money my father had given me. He is always, and always has been, willing to give me what I need. That day, I found myself giving away a huge stack of cash.
It wasn’t until I found out it was a scam that I knew somewhere in this there would be a hard lesson.
But was it hard? Not really—not in the way it should have been. I hadn’t earned that money. I didn’t know what it had taken to earn it, other than someone else’s hard work and irreplaceable time spent behind a desk.
What I would soon realize was that when it wasn’t my money, I could spend it without too much thought. That had been the story of my life: spending on things I really, really didn’t need, or already had somewhere underneath more stuff I didn’t need.
I have always taken for granted having every need met. Is that the normal American way? Is it true that we live in abundance? Some would say yes, others no. But for me, it has always been clear: I have more than enough, and there’s more where that came from.
I’m at an age where I would love to see my dad retire. But what would that mean for me? And does it matter? Or does it really just matter what that would mean for the man whose hard work may or may not be paying off?
I got scammed, yes. But I was also shown that in this life, I have been reckless. I have been selfish. And I have been shown that I am worthy—yes, worthy of it all.
How do I know this? Because I wouldn’t have gotten it if I wasn’t. It seems odd to say I’m worthy of someone else’s hard work and skills that I lack.
Or do I lack them? Have they just never been tapped into and used to the best of my ability?
Going through 38 years with no financial worry would seem great to most, and it is. But it leaves a bit of anxiety in the back of your mind. You know you have never obtained any of that money through your own hands, hard work, and skills. When you think about it, it’s crazy.
The love we have and the love we give are two different things. The love we have been given, we are worthy of. The love we see is an illusion. The love we fight for never really dies. And love in abundance seems unattainable for most.
We come from a loving place, and we die in a loving place. We are what we create, and my family created love from and in every direction—from watching fireworks in Coronado on the Fourth of July to being a firework full of light and energy, keeping others afloat by pure coincidence.
Is this a coincidence, though?
We are all born into a position of wealth, whether it be the love of family and friends, the love of an animal, or just our own self-worth. We are all love.
Now I recognize that without all the extra, without the double purchases, I am in love. In love with all that is.
I was scammed and scared, and somehow sanctioned by the higher powers that be to recognize how loved and special I am.
Because Brooks 