Sunday, May 18, 2008

Shoping Trip

Living like a monk on top of a completely unattainable mountain top in an impossibly beautiful setting, sounds great but if you want to really understand the Human Beings go shopping. You can see every kind of person and about every kind of relationships. Next time you are at the market take a look at the people around you. Look at their faces. Are they happy? sad? apathetic? The next question to ask your self is "Are they even there?"

In a public setting we feel as if no one is watching, which in today's world is far from the truth. Yet we walk around in a fog more concerned about the world in our head then the world we are living in. If you look at a person's face, when they think no one is looking, you see what is going on behind their eyes. Count how many people have a smile or a peaceful expression. Now count how many have a scowl.

I was in line at the check out counter and saw a cashier ringing up some unidentifiable meat product when the coupon decided not to come off. The elderly cashier be came frustrated. You could see in her face that this was just "one more thing to go wrong." I could picture her going home and lamenting how tough her day was and if pressed could recant her battle with the coupon. Every little war she waged reinforced this truth.

On the same trip I was attacked by a one year old. This blond hair, blue eyed, warrior of shear bliss stopped me dead in my tracks with a huge scattered tooth smile. I smiled back only to have it volleyed back with even greater force. This girl got me. As I stood in the middle of the aisle, I was sucked out of my mental/virtual world and was confronted with undeniable bliss. Defeated in my negativity, I retreated back into the eggs and concentrated orange juice. There I watched as the very same apathetic, scowling faces I saw earlier brighten to a full on beaming smile. Every time I could trace their glance right to the young girl with the undiscriminating smile.

Next time I am at the store I am going to try something a little different. I am going to stop the internal chorus of "how bad my life is, let me count the ways" at least long enough to smile to that cashier . I just hope having a mouth full of teeth will not lessen effect.

Live in awe.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well put and a nice reminder for me Zenmonkey--its really hard sometimes to see past one's own drama. Its also hard to appreciate others and enjoy life when one is regularly playing the "ok, when's that other sneaker gonna drop game". Hard to see the lovely things when you are too busy LOOKING for the negative. Keep up the nice work...Cholive

Rashed Milion said...

Such a poignant post and a beautiful thinking.

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