Get Inspired-Accountability

I met a young man yesterday who inspired me about being accountable.  I was in line at the Clerk of Courts  waiting to deal with my traffic ticket and a man in his late teens or early 20s asked me if we were in the right line to pay tickets.  I didn't know and said so.  He began chatting and mentioned he hoped he could just pay and not go to jail.  My ticket was "unsafe lane change" (a life metaphor?? hum, maybe...) so I was a little confused.  I blurted out, "What was your ticket for!?" and he replied, "marijuana."  I didn't know they gave tickets for marijuana so I asked him about it and we began conversing.  He was such an earnest guy, he really grabbed my heart.  He had quit smoking pot and said it wasn't hard at all.  He had a few complications in terms of a ride home from court, etc. and at some point I said, "I'm sorry."  He took it in for a second and (thinking I was talking about the ticket) replied, "No, that's just the way life is."  As I was finishing with my clerk, he sat beside me at the counter and began speaking to the clerk beside me.  "No, I don't want to contest this.  I have no reason to contest this," I overheard him say. 

I walked out of that courthouse in a happier state than I'd been in days.   I loved how he wasn't blaming anybody or being resentful, how was accepting "the way life is."  I loved how he wasn't trying everything at his disposal to get out of his ticket (I assume that ticket could affect his record for a long time).  I loved how he'd used it as an opportunity to make a change in his life.  I loved that he was taking ownership of his life.   I loved the underlying trust he had that life was unfolding in a way that was appropriate and acceptable. 

Thanks for the inspiration anonymous young man!