Keeping Focused in the Present Moment
Time doesn’t stand still for anyone, and change can make life a prospective field of hazards for the unwary. One should take time from daydreaming of the past in order to be mindful in the present.
Old Martha Franklin had worked hard her entire life, and with the death of her dear husband some twenty years back she clung to independence as twilight descended. Martha worked for forty years at the local cigar factory, rolling cigars and chatting with the nice ladies she worked with, the decades had flowed by like water. With her children gone on to have children of their own, she fondly recalled a wheel of seasons, holidays, celebrations, and dreams all neat and orderly, everyone of them a snow globe of tenderness she kept turning over in her heart of hearts.
The house they lived in had so many cherished memories that she wished never to leave it, although the expenses were getting heavy as inflation gnawed harder and harder at the nest egg she set aside for herself. Despite Martha’s best efforts to save money each month, the fact was that she needed to downgrade her already modest lifestyle. The thought of this left her sleepless, but there would soon be no other choice. Realizing she would lose the house in any case, Martha sadly confronted the truth. Selling to begin again was better than defaulting on taxes and seeing it stripped away by a greedy government.
Don’t Let a Time of Distress Distract you from Safety
One sunny afternoon Martha heard the doorbell ringing and went to answer it. On the welcome mat there stood a kind faced gentleman who said his name was Tim. He was a contractor and was going door to door seeking to offer aid to those who needed a handyman. Seeing as how Martha’s house needed a paint job, a new driveway, and perhaps even a roof job, Tim thought he would pop in and offer her a business card. His gloved hand presented it to Martha who took this for legitimacy, having come from an age she believed to be more decent than the hard times they faced nowadays.
Tim claimed to understand Martha’s situation, knowing that she didn’t want to sell. Even so, he wished to help her, explaining that the deal he would give her would sort things out cost effectively. Martha was a funny sort, one who wished privacy, not wanting to involve her children in what was for her a very painful and embarrassing transition to a fixed income. Believing that she knew best, and trusting Tim as he came by day after day to give her free estimates, Martha started looking forward to his visits for tea and home repair evaluations. Loneliness made her more vulnerable than she could have ever realized.
We could all have the wool pulled over our eyes, but with Behavior Analysis Training you could avoid being fooled.
Tim seemed genuine enough to her, so when he asked for her social security number for a permit he was filing, Martha gave it to him without hesitation. It wasn’t long after this that she began cutting him checks, relying on him to oversee the restoration of her beloved house. There was something about Tim that reminded her of Arthur, her eldest son. She had been so sure that the two of them would get along, and yet wished to keep the whole thing to herself all the same. Tim disappeared one day, leaving her feeling the fool when her bank statements revealed how bad the fraud had used her.
Things are not always what they appear to be, and even the wisest cannot see past their own preconceptions. Studying the program’s valuable lessons can help keep you safe from fraud and other forms of identity theft.
