This all started with a
string of comments on Facebook where I couldn’t help be a smarty-pants, and
with a few friends poke fun at some… behavior,
observed recently at Whole Paycheck.
A customer threw a hissy
fit after learning the toaster they were using to crisp up a slice of their
organic bread had also been used for toasting non-organic, or conventional
bread. The trouble was their organic toast stood a chance of being contaminated
with a conventional crumb. Heavens NO!
My source also reports observing another customer at the checkout, demanding
the cashier enter the SKU of each item manually rather than scan them, the
concern being the electromagnetic field of the scanner would taint the food.
Oh dear. Am I alone in
thinking life is way, way, too easy for some people?
If you could see these
individual’s entire experience, their behavior at any moment would make perfect
sense. Maybe. Whether they were self-absorbed and feeling entitled, or neurotic,
or full on wacko is hard to tell, but the behavior seems just a skosh far-fetched.
Doing my best to empathize, yikes, if they get this bent out of shape over such
minutia, what the rest of their lives must be like… I feel for them. It can’t
be a happy place.
This leads me to think
about the people I’ve known on the approximately opposite end of the spectrum
who have lived with scarcity. I’m talking about hard scrabble go-without-a-lot-of-things-many-people-take-for-granted
scarcity. These people are not concerned with slight inconsistencies in the
ingredients of their toast. At all. Rather they are thankful to have something
to eat, knowing well the value of food, the measure being hunger.
Friends who not long ago
came to this country from Mexico, who know a thing or three about deprivation,
invited me to a birthday party they were throwing for their two year old
daughter. Of the fifty or more assembled guests, far as I could tell, the vast
majority was from a background similar to that of the host and hostess. The
buffet lunch went on and on, all homemade and a huge effort and expense relative
to the means of my friends. No one appeared to quibble over the ingredients and
no one, not even the kids was picky.
Everyone had plates full
and faces beaming. Alegría de vivir filled the air, and we ate with gusto. We sang and danced, well,
some of us danced. We were there to celebrate and our expressions and gestures
filled any voids left by the lack of common words. It was a wonderful time and
an honor to be included. I left with mi
panza llena, mi corazón contento.
While I wouldn’t wish hardship
on anyone, there seems to be a correlation between it and having a level-headed
set of priorities; not to mention a propensity to enjoy life.
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