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My friend Jim had a frustrating experience at the grocery store last night.
He was already tense going there because we all are these days. Anyway there was a man in a PPE mask not following aisle arrows.
Because Jim was following the arrows, he waited for the older man...
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He was already tense going there because we all are these days. Anyway there was a man in a PPE mask not following aisle arrows.
Because Jim was following the arrows, he waited for the older man...
/1
...passing his cart when he could.
It was annoying, tense & time consuming, so Jim started skipping aisles to avoid close contact.
He was a bit stressed because he didn’t want to forget to pick something up then go home without it or have to backtrack to get it.
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It was annoying, tense & time consuming, so Jim started skipping aisles to avoid close contact.
He was a bit stressed because he didn’t want to forget to pick something up then go home without it or have to backtrack to get it.
/2
Jim was frustrated as he continued to shop the aisles out of order, but he was getting through his list & it was okay.
Halfway down the next aisle, buddy shows up at the far end. He parks his cart at the end & starts walking the wrong way down the aisle, toward Jim...
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Halfway down the next aisle, buddy shows up at the far end. He parks his cart at the end & starts walking the wrong way down the aisle, toward Jim...
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... to find something on a shelf.
Jim stops & waits keeping social distance, but he’s getting steamed now. He just wants to get his groceries & get the hell out of there. He stares at the man.
That’s when Jim notices the man’s not just older but elderly and...
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Jim stops & waits keeping social distance, but he’s getting steamed now. He just wants to get his groceries & get the hell out of there. He stares at the man.
That’s when Jim notices the man’s not just older but elderly and...
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... his hand is shaking as he reaches for a jar. The man is scared.
Jim stares at his shaking hand.
Jim’s thoughts shift instantly: maybe the man is also confused or overwhelmed. For all Jim knows, he might not be used to grocery shopping on his own. Maybe he’s shopping...
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Jim stares at his shaking hand.
Jim’s thoughts shift instantly: maybe the man is also confused or overwhelmed. For all Jim knows, he might not be used to grocery shopping on his own. Maybe he’s shopping...
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...because his elderly wife is immunocompromised & can’t.
Jim is a jumble of thoughts.
As Jim waits, the man knocks a glass jar onto the floor and it shatters across the aisle.
Jim’s eyes tear up as he tells me this part. His frustration disappears.
After the crash...
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Jim is a jumble of thoughts.
As Jim waits, the man knocks a glass jar onto the floor and it shatters across the aisle.
Jim’s eyes tear up as he tells me this part. His frustration disappears.
After the crash...
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...Jim watches the man pick a jar off the shelf, walk down to the end of the aisle, place it in his cart.
Next, the man went to find a store employee to tell them about his accident in the aisle.
Jim waits mid-aisle & watches over the scene, on guard now.
Jim is ex-Navy...
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Next, the man went to find a store employee to tell them about his accident in the aisle.
Jim waits mid-aisle & watches over the scene, on guard now.
Jim is ex-Navy...
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...and works with veterans.
He sees this old man as one of his own now, someone to be protected. He can’t go closer to help directly but he can hold the space, compassionately. So he does.
Jim picked up everything on his list. There was no hurry.
He told me the story...
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He sees this old man as one of his own now, someone to be protected. He can’t go closer to help directly but he can hold the space, compassionately. So he does.
Jim picked up everything on his list. There was no hurry.
He told me the story...
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...afterwards because it struck him how important patience and compassion are right now — and reminders.
Reminders are important.
/end
Reminders are important.
/end
