Sweet as Syrup

South Pasadena CA

16 January, 2021

8:57 PM

Description

I inadvertently turned the corner into an aisle in my neighborhood supermarket today. There I was pushing my shopping cart towards the baking section when I noticed him. The entire situation reminded me of driving home from work in West Hollywood one cold winter night a few years ago. All was well on Melrose until I stopped at the red light at Normandie. The wind began to blow fiercely. It howled as newspapers and boxes flew across the intersection. I could see that the entrance of the 101 freeway wasn't too far off, and yet I was destined to be exactly where I would be in the midst of the turmoil. Ok, getting back to the aisle in the supermarket. I came upon a man who acted peculiar. He appeared to be stressed out. The newspapers and boxes weren't flying around but his arms sure were. He kept pulling out different brands of syrup from the shelves and then he would angrily push them back in. Slowly I kept walking until I saw the sparks flying and stopped right there at the red light. 'Is everything ok?' I asked. 'Well, you know,' he said. 'They can put a man on the moon and do a lot of things, but they can't put a decent syrup on the shelf, and in the meantime thousands of people are running around with diabetes.' Whew, that was a lot to unload. I turned my head to the side as if to let the fierce wind blow past me. He was angry, so angry that he couldn't find a particular syrup, and yet he could have taken on a whole different perspective. It didn't have to be so overwhelming. I turned and saw exactly what I was shopping for at the end of the aisle much like I saw the 101 freeway not too far off in the distance. But for some reason I was destined to be exactly where I would be, right here in the midst of the turmoil. 'You know, ____ has a great selection in syrups maybe you should try there.' I said to the frantic man who was still rearranging the syrup area. I didn't get a response, but I did try to shift his perspective. As sweet as that syrup section was, he had forgotten his own inner sweetness. But for that, he would have to go beyond the surface. It would take some effort. It would definitely be a different perspective. Patricia Huff, author and Massage therapist.