Bursting Bubbles

Whenever I go shopping, I am fascinated by how every other shopper seems to have an invisible bubble wrapped around them. They are so focused on their shopping list that it is all they can manage to see. They pass by intently and quietly, with only the squeaky wheel from their shopping cart breaking the heavy silence.

I have decided to break that bubble every time I go out by greeting everyone who passes.Almost inevitably, they respond as they turn, smile and greet me.

Sometimes, when I do the monthly shopping with my spouse, I keep mental tabs on how many respond and how many ignore me. The last one had over 30 responses with smiles and words. Only two or three ignored me.

Bubbles can easily burst through barriers in a shop with a friendly word.

When shopping alone, my spouse needs help reaching the higher shelves since she is barely five feet tall. When we get separated, I often lose her in the crowd and have to text her to find her.

So, when I am not with her, she has to wait until a taller person walks by. If they start to pass by, she has to speak up and directly ask for help. She has never been turned down, which reminds me of a story I saw posted recently.

 One day, a man was walking by a crowded aisle when he spotted a small, older woman trying to reach the top shelf to get a jar of raspberry jam. He stopped to offer his help as she pointed to a particular brand she wanted.

He asked her what was especially good about that kind of jam. She looked up and said it was made in a small town in Austria. That town, at great risk to all its inhabitants, hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II. 

Whenever she found that special jam, her family expected her to bring it home. That town sheltered her in safety until the war was over.

Both had tears in their eyes.

When asked what the essence of spirituality is, the Dalai Lama replied, “Be kind.” It can be that simple.

“Kind” is an interesting word. It is used frequently, but perhaps we can deepen and expand its meaning if we probe a bit.

The word “kind” comes from Old English and means “friendly, deliberately doing good to others, compassionate.” It is closely related to another Old English word meaning “to give birth, to beget.” So, it can also be linked to lineage or ancestry. 

I like this definition more. Then, for the word “kin,” from Old English, “cynn,” explicitly and unequivocally means familial lineage.

So, what really happened when the tall man reached for the jar, which was totally out of reach for the short Austrian woman, was not only an act of “kindness.” Instead, in that very act, their arbitrary and unnecessarily imposed so-called differences—age, gender, country of origin, class, personal and political history—simply disappeared at the same time the cherished and hard-to-find jar of raspberry jam found its rightful place in her opening hands.

Give it a try. Hand out your greetings when you go shopping. Maybe someone closed up as a clam on the bottom of the ocean will open so that you can see the pearl hidden inside. 

Burst the bubble of silence separating you by a kind, spoken word. You will be gratified by the result. It is easier than you think!