Humanity at the Grocery Store

I went grocery shopping on Friday. This doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, but I rarely shop -- for anything. My amazing husband, Jason, does the majority of our grocery shopping. My desire to decrease my materialism paired with losing the salary from the job I left when I decided to give the University of Pittsburgh thousands of dollars each year has made not shopping a necessity. I occasionally use the internet to buy something we need, and once in a while I pop into the grocery store, but weeks go by without me buying anything.

So, when I do go to the store, it is always a bit of a shock. I also decided to go on the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend. Great plan for someone who gets overwhelmed by crowds, specifically rude, determined, grocery-shopping crowds. I am always amazed (read: disgusted) by the way people behave in the grocery store. They don't look where they are going with their carts, then don't say "excuse me" if they bump into you. They walk briskly as if they are on a very important mission. Why are all of you people in my way? Don't you know that I have some very important grocery shopping to do? And I need to get out of here quickly. It is very important that I buy this food as quickly as possible.

*Sigh* Why do we act like this? As though we own the world, everyone else is in our way, and that everything must be done so quickly? These feelings are contagious, and so another reason why I don't go shopping is because I can't stand how I start to feel and even act. Rudeness in others brings out my own rudeness and negative thoughts. It's terrible. How blessed are we to have a huge store filled with food, medicine, and hygiene products within minutes of where we live? I know I often take this for granted, but it is absolutely amazing when you think about it.

So, that is what I decided to do on Friday at the grocery store. I thought about my blessings, how thankful I was for each item I placed in my basket. And I smiled at other people, said "excuse me" even when it wasn't my fault, and tried very hard not to let others' negativity impact me. And then I noticed some others doing the same things. A gentleman said "pardon me" as I almost bumped into him, and he let me walk in front of him. I noticed two women with full carts on line at the self-checkout. The store was very busy, lines were long, and employees who bag groceries were scarce. Woman #1 was starting to scan her items, and woman #2, a complete stranger, offered to bag the groceries for her. Woman #1 was stunned and very gracious in expressing her thanks. Woman #2 said that it was no big deal, that she was happy to help. I smiled.

The positive things can be just as contagious as the negative. Sometimes we may just have to look a bit harder for them.