Stop Shopping the Snack Aisle if It’s Going to Tick You Off
You know those people who you are just meant to encounter along your path. It could be a lifetime relationship, or it could be a fleeting moment, but they are there just for you, right when you need them most? I had one of those yesterday in the snack aisle of the grocery store, and this profound moment was exactly what I needed at the precise moment I needed it…
As a mom, no trip to the grocery story is complete without a spin down the snack aisle. As I headed toward the ever-popular Cheez-its, I found my path blocked by my angel. Disguised as a tiny little grandmotherly type, with a shawl and a scarf, she was parked in the Cheez-it section, reaching for, and carefully inspecting box after box.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“Oy gevalt.”
“Outrageous.”
Now, too entranced to reach around her, I just watched for a moment. She gradually worked her way through the Cheez-its, and had reached the Goldfish crackers. Would these be spared?
Nope. Same dismay, package after package, step after step.
I grabbed my family size Cheez-its, but found as many reasons to linger in the aisle to watch her. After the Goldfish, it was time to berate the remaining crackers; Ritz and Clubhouse would not be spared her withering appraisal. Would she get as far as the cookies? Yes, she did. That’s where I left her, making her way disdainfully and dejectedly down the aisle.
I don’t know what was so upsetting to her: the sodium count, the price, the preservatives, or maybe the serving sizes. But clearly she was agitated as she made her way through.
She’s stayed with me since I left the store. Popped into my mind at 5:23 this morning when I thought I had another 37 minutes of sleep left. No, she is worth waking up for. She’s too important to me, and she’s too important to you.
Why? Because she’s ALL of us. Okay, so maybe we don’t do it in the snack aisle of the grocery store. But we do it. How many times have we gone around just looking for things to be upset about? Then when we find them, we can’t wait to latch on to them.
- We look for all the reasons we don’t have as much money as we want, then we talk about how unfair it is.
- We look for all the things that make us angry in the world around us, and then we keep watching the news to stoke those fires.
- We look for all the problems in our lives, and let them take over our thoughts.
- We look for things to complain about and then give ourselves free rein to unleash.
We let ourselves get in the rut of focusing on what we don’t like, and then we just get carried along in it. Once our minds are in that “groove”, it takes effort to get out. We’re not meant to bump along our lives in this unpleasant rut, but we get pulled so far into it, that it begins to feel natural to us.
We live in a world full of things we love and things we hate. That’s actually a good thing. We get to choose, in every moment of every day, what we want to bring into our lives. We choose it with our thoughts, with what we give our attention to.
We’re meant to give our attention to the things that delight us, but that takes practice if you’ve been used to living in the rut of what you don’t like.
I bought my Cheez-its and got on with my life. For my angel in the grocery store, I think the Cheez-its affected her in a far deeper way. I can picture her on the phone to her grandkids talking about it. I can see her at bingo complaining with her friends. I can see her repeating the ritual again next Thursday morning.
Every morning, I start out reminding myself to look for the things I want to see. Go through my day looking for things that delight me. Keep a sharp eye out for the good things. Why?
Because I spent so many years of my life in the same rut as that woman. Allowing my mood, my actions, and my days to be driven by frustration, irritation, disappointment, and blame. That’s not a place I ever want to go back to.
When I consciously start my day reminding myself to look around for the things I truly want to see, something amazing happens.
Amazing things surround me. They surround you too. All day, every day. You just need to retrain yourself to see more of them.