Thursday, August 28, 2025

Compassion and Joy

 

Today, I was at the supermarket picking vegetables and fruits for the week ahead. Among the few of them at the place, there was a really old granny who was also doing her veggie picking. She was accompanied by another old person who was relatively active for her age, and helping her with the buying process. 


At a point in time, I was a feet or so away from her. A moment had come when I had turned to notice her, and she was trying really very hard to bend down to deposit the cauliflower that she had picked, into her basket on the floor. Involuntarily, I reached out to her wrinkled hand, gently took the cauliflower from her, and placed it in her basket. She was obviously surprised by this act and even more surprised to notice that it was not one of the shop's staff who had helped her.


Of course she did not ask for help. Maybe, it could have turned out to be a bad experience for me for being vulnerable: for having taken the risk of offering her my help. In all possibilities, the granny could have been of the kind who gets offended by the fact that someone had doubted her capabilities. Thankfully, that was not the case. She was quick to notice what I just did and thanked me from the bottom of her heart. I accepted her thanks by smiling at her warmly, and moved on.


A few minutes passed by. Now, I was almost crouching to pick fruits from a crate that was placed on the floor. I was too engrossed because I was carefully checking if the fruits were free from insects. Just a few seconds into this act, I noticed someone stooping down to my level and speak to me in the gentlest of the voices I've heard anyone speak to me ever. It was the same old granny asking me to help her pick fruits from the same crate.


I was overwhelming with joy and was moved by the fact that she had welcomed my help in the first act and has now come back to me to take more help without hesitation.


I gladly helped her, and yet again accepted her thanks as well as her blessing that the God bless me abundantly!


~ 07 Oct 2023

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