Integrity at the Cashier

I went to the health food store after work today (PCC) because I needed a few things, and in particular I needed to refill my hand soap. I've started using Ballard Organics' foaming hand soap, and I ran out of the lemongrass concentrate for the dispenser that I use in the kitchen (awesome for getting onion and other food smells off the hands!) I had never refilled the container before - PCC has a lot of items (soaps, shampoos, lotions, cleansers, even maple syrup) that you can refill at a certain amount per ounce into your own container. Costs significantly less than buying new, plus always better to reuse a container than to toss it or even recycle it. So I look at the price and it says it's $5.49 per pint. Uh oh, I've got an 8 oz., half pint, container. I ask a worker how that would work out at the register and she explained that they would ask me at the register how many ounces I had, and do the price that way. Cool. So I fill up my 8 oz. container, finished shopping and checked out. I get into the car and look at my receipt briefly and see this: "Ballard Liq Soap 1 @ 16/5.49" and a final price for my soap of $0.34. And my first thought, after realizing they made a mistake was "cool! that's some discount!" and I was getting ready to think nothing of it and go on my way. Then I thought about it for a second and realized that if I want to live in integrity, this is not the way to do it. And I went back into the store, explained the undercharge, and paid for the other 7 ounces, and they were astonished that I was honest enough to come back in and do that. I'm not telling this story for a pat on the back or to say how much better I am than other people. I'm sharing it because I find this whole situation interesting. If you asked me to list some qualities I like about myself, I wouldn't hesitate to say I was honest and trustworthy. And yet, I was willing - momentarily - to steal 7 oz. of soap. Yes, steal. But for some reason when cashiers screw up (as human beings do from time to time), I've had a history of thinking "score!" and going on my merry way. Even judging them sometimes - "well, if they were better workers they wouldn't screw up, and I didn't intend to take it, so it's not my fault." And I didn't maliciously walk in and intend to steal it, so somehow it 's not the same thing. Amazing how things can be justified. A month ago I was shopping there and put a tube of homeopathic tablets in my cart. When I got to the car with my checked-out bags, I noticed it still in the cart, obviously unpaid for. I had "saved" $7 that way. My justification for taking it was that if I left it there, "someone else would steal it." Oh, but I wasn't stealing it? My guilt got the better of me, and the next time I was there I paid for it. But since then I've really been thinking about it. It's kinda scary how I can detatch from how wrong this is. I'm human. I make mistakes too. So I'm not going to dwell on it. But I'm going to be more mindful of the things I do. I truly want to live a life of integrity. It sounds so cliched, I know, but it's true. The person I am, and the person I want to be, is someone who is honest and trustworthy. It's hard to admit faults, especially one like this. But I think it's important to share because I can't be the only person out there who does or thinks things in this scope from time to time. And if we talk about these things, maybe we can all stop them from happening and the world will be a better place for it. Or at least just me. :)