We're all in this together...

As I stood in line at my local extraordinarily over-crowded Trader Joe’s, I couldn’t help but notice the levels of anxiety in all of the faces surrounding me. The employees tried to keep order, lining up the waiting shoppers behind each of the cash register stands, in calm but watchful and regulatory manner. And looking into the stress-laden faces of the shoppers around me, and the overwhelming loads in their baskets, I did not find myself impatient, annoyed, irritated or judgemental, surprisingly. We are all in this together. Some of us may have more folks im their household to take care of than I do. ( I was mostly shopping for my little dog Gracie, to make sure I didn’t run out of chicken for her…plus a few basic items for myself.) Many in the crowd had baskets that looked like they had a big crowd at home to take care of.

I found that if I could just connect eye to eye with my fellow shoppers for a moment, and smile… if I could go out of my way to express a thank-you to the check-out clerk who moved as fast she possibly could to get my items rung up and make way for the next shopper… I got a lot of genuine smiles back. I got a lot of “we’re all in this together” vibes. It’s important to show appreciation for all those folks out there who are trying to help us do what we feel compelled to do in this rather scary and sparcely-defined time… whether it’s to stock up on things we may never get around to eating or drinking, or to get out of a parking lot without a fender-bender, in the midst of engulfing crowds of vehicles lined up and waitimg for a space.

It’s challenging not to be fearful. It’s challenging not to make it a “political” issue and point the blame. That won’t speed things up. It will however increase our own internal levels of anger and animosity, and those emotions are not healing. So I’m going to try to do as they instruct us old folks to do - stay home, stay careful and attentive, avoid crowds, and as my daughter suggested, take lots of Vitamin C! Who knows—by the time they unravel all this, they might actually discover that Vitamin C can be helpful.

I am thinking of all my friends and loved ones out there…know you’re in my heart. May you be safe, in body and in spirit.