The Gift of Shopping Cart Lessons

 

Photo Credit: My husband

Positive Pensées

Kathy King

The Gift of Shopping Cart Lessons

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Lao Tzu

Courtesy, kindness, looking around.

Mindfulness, gentleness, see what’s around.

Stop for a moment.

Ease the hurry.

We are all in this together. 

Ease your worry.

Why must we rush and run until we can’t go anymore?

Why is life at such a rapid pace as we rush forward?

Take time to smell the roses and gaze at the trees.

Have a conversation with someone who is in need. 

Stop to say a prayer and meditate.

Slow your mind and set a more moderate pace.

Life already moves by quickly as you can see.

Make the most of these moments, by stopping for just a bit. 

I promise you dear readers you will have very little regret.

How many of us go to the store with a list.. Written down, noted, etc.. We get to the store and well, we still forget things that we wrote on our list? Is that only me? Some of this I attribute to the fact that I am always in a rush. Yesterday, I forgot some pretty fundamental things to go in a Pot luck dinner dish. I got home and sigh… I forgot the onions and cheese. I went back to the store to get the two items that make or break the dish. The store was actually bedlam USA. I think that everyone in my little town decided to go to the store at that time on that day. As I was navigating the aisles, I was struck at just how much no one was looking out for the other. The shopping carts were running into each other, in front of each other, behind each other, etc.. I was expecting there to be a WWE of shopping carts at any moment. To add to that, those that were not looking gave each other not quite nice looks. I got to thinking as I continued to shop about slowing down. I wondered if the hurried pace caused this confusion and lack of manners in the store. We all go to the store from time to time. This is a place you can kind of gauge the spiritual zeitgeist at the moment. Yesterday it was HURRY! It was almost like that old game show where the contestants ran through the store getting as much stuff before the buzzer went off. I thought, “Why the rush?” Sure, some folks may have had a time crunch and shopping to me is a tedious yet necessary exercise but really? Why must we always hurry? Did you know that there is an actual term called, “Hurry Sickness?” Well, it is not an actual sickness but the term was coined in the 80s. Basically folks that always hurry can develop heart issues because it is considered “Type A” behavior. Also, you focus on productivity and very little else. It makes you irritable, tired and worried. No wonder in our society of instant fast gratification we are a bit harried much of the time. When you stay in that state it is very hard to look outside of yourself. One behavior that I struggle with is hurry. Bar none. My husband constantly reminds me to slow down. Do you know why? Because I miss things. Sometimes those things are of little consequence while other times they are meaningful. What to do? Well, practice mindfulness. Slow yourself down from time to time. Breathe. Close your eyes for a few minutes and listen to your favorite piece of music. In the words of one of my elderly clients named Patrick: “Slow down sugar, you youngins’ if ya don’t slow down your gonna blink and be my age looking at the twilight of life.” Today my husband and I did something that I don’t believe we have done in years, we slowed down and took a Sunday drive. We had no destination, nothing in mind. We just drove and took in the waning color of fall. It was a nice change from hurrying much of the time. I have shared this quote before but it still rings true. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, even you.” Anne Lamott. Slow down the shopping cart in your mind that is racing down the aisles like a supermarket sweep. Take a mental and physical Sunday drive to calm and cool days that are refreshing.  Happy Thanksgiving week friends!

Source: Masterclass.com

My books are on Amazon!

The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot

The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell

The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee

The Case of the Missing Wellies

The Case of the Missing Honk Honk

The Case of the Missing Ornaments

Clean it Up! Wash it Up!

Coming Soon!

Appalachian Allegory : A Southern Novel