Zen & the Art of Last-Minute Shopping
Yes! I have finished my Christmas shopping! Well, mostly. I mean there are still groceries to be purchased, but that can wait a bit. Since my days begin at 4 AM, when I pulled into my driveway yesterday at 4:15 PM, I was more than a little weary. But I was relieved that a 3 hour juggernaut of "hurry-up & wait" was over!
I am, by nature, not usually a patient person. However, when faced with a difficult task of my own making, (like last minute shopping) I attempt (I don't always succeed) to don a zen-like cape of tranquility to make the activity a bit more bearable. I breathe deeply and try to remember that peace trumps chaos. For the most part, this tactic has helped me through many a stressful situation, (Black Friday traffic, traveling on cramped planes & busy airports at Christmastime, working with Ben for 22 years. . .).
My shopping yesterday consisted of gift card purchases at multiple locations and a post office stop, (on the busiest mailing day of the year, of course!). Oh I know, you're thinking, "Gift cards? Why didn't she buy them on line?" Remember, this is "last-minute, I didn't think to get them early online", shopping."
So, five must-stop locations and approximately three hours to accomplish this undertaking. No problem, right? Excuse me, have you met Sioux Falls? I stood in line at two of the locations; A.) An electronics retailer (with a line out the door and 2 registers open. Two!!) and B.) The post office (serves me right, busiest day and all, blah, blah, blah!)
I am proud to say that I remained calm even through the crazy traffic, in packed parking lots where aggressive parkers would honk at you if you didn't get in your vehicle and "get the hell out of the way!" quickly enough and even at the post office where a kindly woman (I imagine hired by the postal service to act as a guide and helper) had me stand in the wrong line for the first 5 minutes. She was so sweet and yet so uninformed, what was I going to do, yell at her?
We all have a limited amount of time on the planet and wasting it by being cruel, rude or rushing through it without consideration for others seems like an exercise in futility. But I have a better example of taking on a zen attitude than mine.
I wasn't the only one directed to the incorrect line by this lady. There was a young Hispanic man in front of me, who had already been in line for some time. He also got redirected to the correct waiting line. He needed two stamps. That was all, two stamps. He didn't cringe, rail against the injustice of having to wait 20 to 30 minutes to buy two lousy stamps to mail the bills he held in his hands. He thanked the woman, quietly moved and I followed behind him.
He looked at the envelopes in his hands, then looked at his phone to see what time it was, then at the line in front of him. He sighed and peacefully stood to wait. I reached in my purse, grabbed my wallet and removed two stamps from it. I tapped him on the shoulder and offered him the stamps. It was clear he didn't speak much English, he asked, "To pay you?" I said, "No, no problem. You shouldn't have to stand here for two stamps." I took the envelopes from his hands and put the stamps on them myself.
I handed back the bills, newly stamped and he again asked, (this time reaching for his wallet) "No pay you?". I responded with "Merry Christmas & Feliz Navidad", patted his shoulder and ushered him out of line pointing to the mail slot in the lobby. He seemed bewildered as he smiled and nodded. It wasn't a big deal. It got me closer to the front of a long line and I felt good about an itty-bitty kindness that might have made his day a bit better.
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