# Feeling Dumb

**Published by:** [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2/)
**Published on:** 2025-07-18
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2/feeling-dumb

## Content

I got out of the cab at the Budapest airport. I’d had a pleasant ride and laughed a bit, via the language barrier, with the driver. He seemed nice enough. It had been a long day. Very long. I handed him my credit card, paid, and he drove off. Seconds later, a text comes in from the bank asking if I charged $733 for a taxi ride. Ugh. After all these years, I should know better. A rookie mistake. My first thought was to beat myself up, but I took a deep breath and said, “ok, this is just the next challenge in the game. I’ll get it resolved.” And I will. It stung for a while (and it still lingers a bit now, the day after), but instead of being completely pissed for a long time, I felt sad and calm. Sad that there are people in the world like the cab driver. Calm because, in the midst of the storm, I have an opportunity to practice tranquility. The challenges aren’t the disruptors to life. They are part of the game.

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