Have you ever found someone else’s property? How did you feel about it? It happened to me a couple of times: a wallet, an ID card, a jumper.
It is interesting how differently we act with different objects. When I found the wallet, I immediately gave it back, but with the jumper it was impossible. I tried looking around in search of a potential owner (it was in a park), but I found no one nearby who could feasibly wear a man jumper that size. I then started asking to the passengers, but everyone declined owning that specific item.
I am a very honest person so I could not take it home with me, even though it was an expensive brand and looked really nice. I ended up leaving it there where I had found it hoping the person who lost it would remember where to go search for it. After not more than ten minutes a lady came by, saw it and just took it. It could have been the legitimate owner, of course, but since it was a man’s jumper, I honestly doubted it.
This is when I felt silly: why did I not take it for myself? Well, I suppose it is because I would be able to renounce to any lost and found things of mine, but I could never live without self-respect, dignity, and the awareness of being an honest human being. Honesty cannot be lost and found again. Once it has gone, it has gone for good.