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| The Mystery within... |
Sometimes it’s not pleasant being human. My gremlin within reared its ugly head
this past week and made me feel really crummy. I was making a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up a
few things and standing in the less than 20 items checkout lane. The woman in front of me had only two
items but there was a very elderly couple in front of her who had several bags
of groceries, and now with pains taking slowness, the wife was handing over a
handful of coupons one by one. My
demon within mumbled quietly, “What the hell.” The woman in front of me with the two items turned and
looked at me so I said, “This is a limited items checkout lane.” To which she replied, “Oh, I didn’t
even notice that.”
Instantly I regretted my words and my impatience embarrassed
me. Less than two months ago I was
in that same checkout lane with a cart full of groceries because I didn’t
notice the 20 items limit. When I
offered to move to another lane two women behind me said, “No, you can
stay. We don’t mind.” Standing there having those groceries rung
up, I remembered yet another check out experience when a very elderly woman was
painfully slow with her purchases and payment. After she left the man behind me said empathically, “We’re
all going to be there someday.”
Now, adding to my embarrassment was the elderly and weary
looking checker who had also overheard my mumble. She forced pleasantness as she checked me out but I suspect
she wondered if I had any empathy at all.
Hopefully my dark feelings can become a sacrament of shame and will give
me pause the next time I feel impatient.
What if we could all use personal embarrassment to tame our gremlin within?
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