Summary

The narrative recounts the author's experience with finding a dollar bill, purchasing a lottery ticket, and reflecting on the concept of beginner's luck and the dehumanizing nature of name tags, all while adhering to pacifist principles.

Abstract

The author shares a personal anecdote about finding a dollar bill, which he considers a stroke of luck, and his subsequent decision to buy a lottery ticket with it. This event triggers a deeper contemplation on the nature of luck, particularly the phenomenon of beginner's luck, which the author believes he once possessed but has since faded with age. The story takes a turn when the author encounters a convenience store clerk named Michael, who wears a misspelled name tag, leading to a discussion on the dehumanizing effect of name tags and the importance of self-identity. The author, a self-proclaimed pacifist, refrains from physical violence despite feeling provoked, and this experience prompts a realization about the broader implications of pacifism beyond just the avoidance of physical harm. The author concludes by acknowledging that while he did not win anything from the lottery ticket, the experience has taught him more about what beginner's luck is not and has deepened his understanding of pacifism.

Opinions

The author views finding money as a sign of abundance and luck, and believes in acknowledging the universe for such occurrences.
He attributes his past frequent encounters with good fortune to the vibration of beginner's luck, which he feels has diminished with age.
The author has a strong aversion to name tags, considering them demeaning and dehumanizing, and refuses to wear them or have his employees wear them.
He criticizes the convenience store clerk for accepting a misspelled name tag, seeing it as a lack of self-respect and advocacy for one's own identity.
The author identifies as a pacifist and believes that even the thought of violence carries the same negative vibrations as the act itself.
He reflects on the idea that true pacifism extends beyond non-violence to include non-judgment and a broader respect for others.
The author suggests that understanding what something is not (in this case, beginner's luck and pacifism) can be as informative as understanding what it is.

Name Tags and Lotto Tickets

On pacifism and beginner’s luck

A few years back I was walking down the sidewalk one day when I came upon a dollar bill nestled in the grass just a few inches off the sidewalk.

How did that make me feel? It made me feel joyous, abundant and lucky. Picking up the bill, I held it between the palms of my hand and looked up into the sky (as though the bill had fallen from the sky) and I silently said, “Thank you for the abundance.”

Whenever I come across money on the ground I always pick it up, put it in my pocket and then thank the universe for the abundance. Hey, if the universe is going to offer me free money it would be rude not to accept it and say thank you, right?

Back when I was younger I was always finding money. Seriously, it seemed like I found money on the ground almost every day. Back then I carried the vibration known as beginner’s luck. I was always winning things and stumbling onto fortuitous situations. And finding money.

Now that I am an old fart that beginner’s luck vibration seems to have left me. I’m just not very lucky anymore. Despite walking far more now than I did when I was younger I rarely find money on the ground and when I do it is usually just pennies or nickels (I still thank the universe) and it is very rare that I ever find bills.

So, as one could imagine, I was quite elated to find that dollar bill. Instead of putting it in my pocket I kept the bill clutched in my hand, feeling the mojo, so to speak.

After walking a bit further my gaze was suddenly directed towards a convenience store across the street about a block away. I instantly knew what I was going to do with that dollar bill. I crossed the street and headed towards the convenience store to buy a lotto ticket.

It was a lucky dollar bill after all, since it was found. Perhaps the luck from the bill would transfer to the lotto ticket I would buy with it. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Once in the convenience store I handed the lucky dollar bill to the clerk. As he punched some buttons on the lotto ticket machine I noticed his name tag, which read, ‘Micheal.’ Seriously?

As the clerk handed me the lotto ticket I asked, “So your name is Mike-eeee-ul?” I pronounced it as it was misspelled.

The clerk rolled his eyes, “No, it’s Michael. The manager misspelled it on the name tag she gave me.”

“Didn’t you insist on a name tag with the correct spelling of your name on it? How can you let someone else decide for you what your name is and how it’s spelled?”

Putting the lucky dollar bill into the cash register, the clerked shrugged his shoulders, “Hey, at least I got a job.”

I was appalled! I wanted to reach across the counter and slap the guy across the face in hopes of slapping some sense into him. Of course I did not. After all, I am a pacifist. I never, ever, ever, ever strike other humans — or animals.

But I was not a very awakened pacifist at the time. While I never struck anyone I did not remember that thinking about striking someone carried the very same vibrations as actually striking them.

Instead, I slapped the palm of my hand on my forehead in exasperation. A true pacifist, of course, never strikes their self as well as others.

As I left the convenience store an idiosyncratic thought pattern began looping in my noggin. For most of my life I have had an extreme aversion to name tags. To me, they are disgusting and demeaning and dehumanizing. We are human beings, for crying out loud, not some consumer product to be labeled!

I found myself getting pissed off about the convenience store clerk’s name tag and name tags in general. I had not worn a name tag in many decades. I refuse to. Even when I owned and ran my own business I refused to allow my employees to wear name tags. I really do have a very strong quirk about name tags. Am I a weirdo, or what?

Once, long ago, I was attending an employee meeting at a job that I had only recently been hired for. The boss opened up a little box and proclaimed, “I have had name tags made for everyone so from now on we will all be wearing name tags.” He then passed out the name tags to everyone.

I was infuriated to see that my name was incorrect on my name tag. It read, “Whitefeather” instead of the correct way, “White Feather.” Two words; both capitalized. What is so hard about that?

I spoke up, “My name is wrong on this name tag.”

The boss responded, “Oh, okay. I’ll get another one made for you.”

“No. It’s not just the name it’s the whole idea of name tags. It’s demeaning and dehumanizing and I really don’t want to wear one.”

Was I an idiot? As the new guy I could have been fired right then and there for defying the boss.”

The boss looked at all the employees, “So who wants to wear name tags?”

One young woman raised her hand.

“Who doesn’t want to wear name tags?”

Everyone else raised their hands.

The boss threw his hands up into the air, “Fine, name tags are optional.”

From that point on no one ever wore their name tag except for that one young woman. Eventually I asked her why she wore it.

She shrugged her shoulders, “It just makes life easier for me. Instead of having to tell people my name they can just read it.”

That was another one of those instances when I slapped my forehead. I was an ignorant pacifist who did not realize that pacifism was more than just not hitting someone — or yourself. It is also about not making judgments about people or things. In terms of energy vibrations, making a judgment about someone is still an act of aggression even if it is not physically expressed.

Anyway, to make a long story slightly shorter, I never got a single number correct on that lotto ticket I bought with the lucky dollar bill.

I have been meaning to write an article about beginner’s luck. I feel that it is a vibration that can be tapped into. This article that I am currently writing, however, is definitely NOT that article. It can be more appropriately called an article about what beginner’s luck is NOT.

When learning about something it is usually helpful to first learn what that something is NOT, much like how I never fully understood what pacifism is until I learned everything that it is NOT.