This column is an experiment. Like life.
It is inspired by and at times penned by Mr. Shupe and his particular way of moving through the world. If asked, Mr. Shupe will sometimes reference a stoic mindset: the awareness that external events, the past, and the future are outside our control. We can only control our own attitude, words and actions while attending to the present moment. Stoicism is not the lack of emotion but an ability to step back from and examine emotions with curiosity.
In this spirit, this column is a meditation on happenstances and reactions to the drudgery and amusement of everyday encounters.
While at the Kroger in Glenwood Park the other day, I was attempting to push my grocery cart past the candy aisle without looking at the bagged delight – so as not to be tempted to buy the newly designed Stork Chocolate Reisen logoed bag.
Alas I was stymied by a half-full grocery cart parked diagonally across the lane while its apparent pusher was scanning the baking powders twenty-seven feet further down the aisle. At this point, I was forced to walk around my cart, push the blocking vessel closer to the grocery items so that my cart could pass.
The guilty party glanced over to see me move his impetuously abandoned buggy. Yet he resumed powder shopping without even a head tilt to indicate an “oopsiedoesit.”
I mean, c’mon. Be aware of your surroundings.