(Matt here)
In a book that I was just reading, "The Year of Living Biblically" (in which the author strives to follow the Bible very literally for a year), the author places a lot of emphasis on his ritual of thankfulness for things in everyday life.
The other day I went shopping when I was hungry. Not a good idea. First, everything looks good (should I get 4 different jars of pickles or just 3?). Then it looks really good (would it be too weird if I opened this jar of pickles now and just ate a few?). Resisting my urge to eat the food in the cart only made me feel hungry and cranky. At this stage, everyone with bad shopping habits stands out.
The lady who parks her cart in the middle of aisle while browsing.
My Counter: Passive aggressively stand right behind her cart and stare straight down the aisle until she gets the message.
Outcome: She doesn't get the message.
The couple who decides to have a playfight with their cart right in front of me as I'm clearly trying to find a way past.
My Counter: Stare incredulously when it seems that they can't figure out why this might be a problem.
Outcome: Lots of giggling and me tightening my grip on the cart.
However, in this scenario all you need to see is one parent with two little kids crying and grabbing on to him/her while trying to shop and everything feels better.
I decided that this would be a good time to try out some positive thinking.
I was thankful that, at this moment, I only needed to organize my grumpy self.
I was thankful that I would have as much food as I wanted, whenever I wanted.
Really, I could buy anything. I pretty much never have to worry about hunger.
I am very thankful for that.
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Regularly I end up bringing things home from the store that aren't quite right. Last time this happened we ended up with a bag of sushi rice instead of our regular rice. Wendy often is confused as to how I end up making these errors... then I explain how great it is trying to shop with a 3 year old following me around, begging to carry everything, dropping everything, grabbing my pants, throwing a fit, trying to unwrap things or eat things before we pay for them, etc.
ReplyDeleteI sure do like shopping when I get to go by myself. Nothing like some perspective to improve your outlook on a situation.
were you in superstore? i feel like that everytime i'm in there (especially if i mistime a visit for a busy weekend day!). I'll have to try your positive thinking method next time I'm considering running someone over with my cart! good blog guys! keep up the good work!
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