Clean Up In Aisle Four

Posted on by Harlon

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Do you remember the song by The Clash, “Lost In The Supermarket”. I feel that way sometimes.  It’s a funny experience to have.  I think that is something we may have in common. Feeling certain ways, responses to certain places, expectations from the unknown. The low-grade fever of change.

Different people includes me.

I sometimes feel I am lost or that I am suffering.  Pain or suffering are ways to experience life, for me, they are not ways that I want to LIVE my life.

The truth is my life can feel like a million things. One million things equals one life.

I suspect that if I can extend my feelings to others, then pain and suffering become universal. They are the responsibilities of life.  If we can extend these feelings then what becomes universal is the sense of belonging. Altruism and joy can be the normal.

Back to the supermarket.  If I am going to be lost anywhere, or let me rephrase that, I know I am going to feel lost again, and if I feel lost and I think of my life as the supermarket that is around me. I can try different things.  I can share different things.  My understanding expands. I get you. You get me. It becomes second nature.

How about this, wherever you are, wherever I am, as my mind wanders and my feelings change, if the experience darkens, if the details become less clear, then I will encourage myself to find a place where I can settle for a while. Where I can take stock.

8 thoughts on “Clean Up In Aisle Four”

  2. A gem of a post, Harlon. There are so many tiny absurdities that we find are shared– common to the experience of being human– and you are a master of identifying these points of contact. You touch on them beautifully, including the sensation of being lost. Sharing, even of the little things, bridges the gap…

    Peace
    Michael

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      • Hey pal, all is well – just a little turbulence and opting to take a chance and go on a vacation (seems like someone has been trying to take the fun out of travelling). I am back and it was a great experience for me. It is also very swell (OK, not the right word) it truly meant a lot to me that you checked-in on me. Thanks for being genuine! H.

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  3. The closest I’ve ever come to a panic attack was in a supermarket with the bright lights, too much stimulation, and I was probably hungry. After too much time in the supermarket, I crave a quiet place of simplicity to find myself again, where, as you say, we can settle in and take stock. Then, even in the supermarket, it’s possible for altruism and joy to become be the normal. What a beautiful possibility!

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  4. Harlon, what a great post! Every day I celebrate being ‘different’, finally freed from the need to conform to what others need or want me to be, continuously self-forming, evolving, in the moment. I’ve learned the hard way, that growing up is about willingly going against the grain of normalcy because the facets of our soul are cut on the bias so that the asymmetry of our being can shine in all its perfection! It’s a waste of our lives to attempt to go against the flow of that which is natural to who we are. Today, the Knowledge I am most thankful for is the understanding that not one of us is dying of terminal uniqueness 🙂

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