Before Christmas, I placed a significant order with Zara, with the intention of trying on all the clothes that had caught my eye in the application and keeping the ones that fit best, while returning the rest. Knowing that I’d likely return at least half of the order, I didn’t pay much attention to the prices of the selected items, as not all of them would stay with me anyway. When the packages arrived, I spread them out on the table and began my own fashion show. My beloved cat sat quietly on the couch, observing all the commotion. I stepped into the kitchen briefly to get a glass of water.

Upon my return, I discovered a tomcat in one of the boxes, perched on a cashmere dress from the premium collection, tearing a hole in the middle of the product with silent and intense concentration. I was on the brink of a heart attack, sustained only by a mixture of despair and anger. I hadn’t even had the chance to try on the clothes, measure them, cut the tags, or decide whether I wanted to keep them. Besides shooing the cat out of the box, my first instinct was to try to limit the damage. My initial thought was, ‘I’ll return it to the store and explain that it arrived this way, after all, how could they prove otherwise? The customer is always right, especially in corporations and chain stores.’

I began the return process, all the while feeling a sense of despair, repeatedly glancing at the price on the receipt, which unfortunately remained unchanged no matter how many times I checked it. However, in the midst of executing my ‘clever’ plan, a thought struck me: ‘This is dishonest; I have no right to a refund!’ I tried to justify my actions by telling myself that if I had ordered from a small Polish entrepreneur, I wouldn’t return it, but Zara, with its high profit margins and exploitation of employees, deserved it. Initially, I even considered it a glimpse of karma that they were receiving for their wrongdoings. As my thoughts and inner dialogue grew more insistent, I realized that it didn’t matter whom I was deceiving; it was still deceit. Passing judgment and punishing simultaneously is not our prerogative, just as I was trying to rationalize my actions by condemning the big store and penalizing Zara.

If I strongly believe they deserve some form of retribution and disagree with their practices, I should simply refrain from purchasing from them. Does stealing from a stranger or a wealthy individual, whom we believe has plenty, make our action any less of a theft? Unfortunately not.

When it comes to core values and moral principles in general, especially those that are simple and clearly defined, discerning right from wrong is often straightforward. We know when something is right, but due to our comfort, fear, or other reasons, we sometimes try to silence our intuition and moral compass. If we feel insecure, ashamed, or uncertain, it’s likely because we are violating a moral code and attempting to rationalize and deceive ourselves while distorting reality.