That Day My Landlord Nearly Shot Me

I’ll get straight to the point.

I was at university. I’d ‘escaped’ my family and gone south to London.

My Dad was a beautiful man. He would send me money weekly so that I could live. And he also sent me rent money.

But then the sudden freedom hit me hard. Everything that I was never even allowed to get close to as a teenager was now in front of me. It was shiny. It was a gift.

I was intoxicated every night on something or other. I tried some hard stuff too (but that’s another story). I was safe, with friends. But I was doing stuff to my body that I’m still paying for now.

Anyway, the landlord.

My Dad had organised the accommodation. This landlord was seemingly professional and pleasant. Clear on the details of payment and so on.

Crystal clear.

The first time I missed rent he was smiling, reasonable, but with a flash of something in his eyes that suggested a brittle coldness.

I had no real financial education, no real understanding of bills or other financial commitments.

I missed the second months rent and then started to avoid him.

A few days after missing that second month I was walking with my friends, broad daylight, busy city streets.

A car pulls up.

The landlord jumps out and screams at my friends to go away.

Then he pushes me up against the wall of Barclays Bank and tells me that I’m late and I have to pay him now.

I explain that I can’t and he jerks out a hand and gives me what can only be described as a reasonably firm slap on the cheek. I’m a little dazed.

I’m dazed, but then I wake up when I feel something hard and heavy against my stomach. I look down and see the gun.

It’s metal, it’s heavy and it’s real.

My Dad (that beautiful man) pays the rent and within a month I’m staying at the home of a family friend just outside London.

Looking back at this fairly significant episode in my life I realise just how catastrophic it could have been.

But I also understand that I can take something from the experience, even now, several years later.

It was a perfect example of the law of cause and effect.

Of course, the landlord should not have pulled a gun on me. It was a criminal act and someone could have been hurt or killed.

But it happened.

It happened for a reason. I did not pay the rent because I was spending the money to fuel a lifestyle that was based on stupid decisions.

That doesn’t excuse the landlord and their behaviour, but it does point to a fundamental law:

The law of cause and effect.

If I don’t pay rent there will be a consequence. Whether it’s a criminal landlord with a gun or a court summons, there will be a consequence for my actions.

This is a cast-iron law that we cannot bend or break.

If I drink excessively I will have a hangover and damage my liver.

If I watch too much anime on Netflix I will miss that work deadline.

If I eat too many sugary treats, I will gain weight and lose my teeth.

And on the flip side…

If I exercise at least three times a week I will prolong my life.

If I drive carefully I will have a better chance at avoiding an accident.

If I read every day my brain will stay active.

And yes, if I don’t pay my rent I may even face potential, serious violence.

Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.

Thomas Huxley

Let’s talk about you.

Everything you do has a consequence. Good or bad, sooner or later.

Our brain couldn’t cope with the work, but if we literally examined every single one of our actions at the end of a day, we would see a consequence every single time.

It’s a universal law.

I’m reflecting a lot at the moment. I’m thinking about actions and decisions I’ve made in the past. Everything that has led me to here. I can see exactly why I am here now, in this place, with these people, doing this stuff.

So can you.

And the best thing is, if you start to think about how the rest of your life is going to play out, you can start to make some choices that can result in more positive and rewarding consequences.