Over 90% recovery rate for items left on trains!? How is that possible?

May opera rehearsals are underway. Today, I was taking the subway to the rehearsal studio for a run-through of 'The Duchess of Malfi'.

This is the opera.

I have posted an article about the performance.
Please take a look.

Back to the story...
As I approached the station nearest to the hall, I suddenly realized.

I don't have my umbrella...

Was it on the train before I transferred? But I don't remember having it then either. In that case...?

I think I leaned it against the bench when I sat down to wait for the train.

I immediately looked up the station's contact information on my smartphone and called as soon as I arrived at the station.

Here, I think I did a good job myself,
'I think I left my umbrella leaning against a bench near the [car number] area while I was sitting there before boarding the train bound for [destination] at [time]...'
I was able to convey it specifically.

The station staff went to check, and when I called again during the rehearsal break—it had been safely recovered!

✨ My umbrella is back! ✨

⸻

Actually, I have left things behind or lost things many times before.

・Seibu Line I left my water bottle and hat behind on my way to a lesson.
・Shonan-Shinjuku Line I left my umbrella behind when going to a lesson in Kamakura.
・Pass case I dropped it (multiple times).
・Keys I lost them (multiple times).
・I shopped at a terminal station and left my eco-bag behind on the train home.

……Yet, surprisingly, everything has come back.

For larger items, I dropped my wallet at the airport and went to Macau penniless.
But, I was able to continue my trip with the help of a local Japanese person through an acquaintance.
Moreover, the wallet was returned later without losing a single card or a single yen in cash.

⸻

Of course, not every lost item in my life has returned.

・On a day with heavy rain, an umbrella I left at the entrance of a building because 'it would get wet' was gone by the time I returned.
・I have also been a victim of pickpocketing.

Even so, in total, I think over 90% has returned.
The last time something didn't return was... 30 years ago? (I've successfully recovered almost everything lost since then.)

⸻

So, why do lost items return so often?

In the past, I thought, 'If I lost it, it can't be helped if it doesn't come back.'
But now, I have the mindset that 'if I inquire specifically, it will definitely come back.'

I feel that this is not just a matter of luck, but a difference in mindset.

・Someone picks it up and turns it in.
・When I lost my commuter pass in my student days, I was contacted through the station and it was handed to me directly.
・I realized I lost it and went back and forth many times. When I couldn't find it and went to the police box, it had been turned in to a different police box.
・I thought, 'I don't have my keys!' and they were still stuck in my university locker or my front door...

(* By the way, I live within walking distance of a Yamanote Line terminal station. It shouldn't be because I'm in the countryside.)

Since these things happen on a daily basis, eventually—

'Things I lose are more likely to come back' I started living with that premise.

⸻

My way of life might be related to lost items returning.

Not everything I lose comes back.
But, what I need returns to my hands, and help comes when I need it.

As a result of such experiences piling up—

'Where I am now is where I should be'
'Everything that happens has a meaning'
'If something catches my interest, I'll try it for now'

……Perhaps that's why I've become able to live optimistically.

Surely, it's because I've been helped a lot by strangers.

Thinking about it that way, it might be an event that allows me to realize human kindness even more than the return of lost items.
　

You can read articles in the same category from this magazine✨

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