I did some reading from other inspirational materials and then decided to go to the market.
Almost everything that I wanted from a list that I had made was in my cart. I looked around for that last item because this market is not around the corner from my house. I looked at the cashier lines and saw that one was empty and was ready to ring me out as soon as I removed my grocery items from the cart. Something, like a feeling, nudge me to choose another line. I was looking at the empty conveyor belt and decided to stay where I was.
The cashier, after asking if I wanted to use the bags that I was purchasing, began to ring up my groceries. I asked the cashier to please try to pack the two bags as equally as possible. He did not acknowledge the request. I also noticed he did not greet me with the usual "how are you?...did you find everything you needed today? I ignored that and just waited. I watched the cashier pack my first bag and all the heavy items were going in and only a few items were left and they were not heavy items.
I made another request to the cashier, would you try to pack the bags equally, please? He responded, I will put the rest of the groceries into the second bag and the bags will be equally packed. He asked, is this alright? I only hesitated for a nano second. I responded, no it is not all right. I will repack the bag myself. I was not angry just surprised because I do not usually encounter behavior like this in Whole Foods Markets. He took everything out and said, you tell me what you want in each bag. I reached for a bag to pack my own groceries. He grabbed the bag away from me and said, I will pack the bags.
The customer behind me seemed a bit amused at this situation. The cashier asked, what goes in each bag? I started with oranges in bag one and onions in bag two and so on until the two bags were filled. He pushed the bags toward me, in order for me to grab the bags and handed me my receipt and wished me a fun afternoon. He was not pleasant throughout our entire encounter.
When I think back, he was not pleasant to the customer that was right before me. So, I knew that it was not about me. I do not know if he was having a bad day or not.
On the way home in the car, I thought about him. I thought to myself, I do not know what this person may be going through. He was my cashier and I assumed that he was suppose to be perfectly fine. I also thought of this stranger as my neighbor and asked myself, after his behavior towards me, do I love this person as I love myself. I have to say that my answer was yes. I did not like or love his behavior or lack of courtesy to me; but yes, I do love this person, my neighbor, as myself.
I had a real opportunity to understand that we do love our love ones, friends, family and neighbors regardless of their behavior. We dislike the behavior that a person may display. Sometimes, it is hard to differentiate between the person and his behavior.
I also thought about the choice that I made. I did not have to choose him. If I had chosen another cashier and they were pleasant then I would not have had this experience where I could ask the question, do I still love this person as myself? I may define love differently from others, but I also would not have had the opportunity to be aware that I was nudged through my intuition, not to get into this cashier's line. I did anyway and I am not worse off for it. I am strengthening and trusting my ability to be more aware that my intuition is there at all times guiding me to make wise choices.
Meditation: contemplate on, I am strengthening my faith in listening and trusting my intuition in guiding me to make wise choices. Take 3 deep cleansing breaths and go into the silence for at least 3 minutes. Lovely LadyFran
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