Mindful Grocery Shopping
I think I speak for the majority when I say that grocery shopping in person can often be an exhausting errand. No one likes to be called out to wait in long checkout lines, be squeezed in overcrowded aisles, or face the insufferable pain of locating an empty space in cramped and congested parking lots. As tempting as it is to simply stay under the covers and do our grocery shopping from the comfort of our own home, I would argue against this. Grocery shopping doesn’t always have to be the dreadful experience that we take it as. Purchasing groceries, whether it be at your local market, or a massive superstore, can be both a restorative, productive experience that we all may benefit from if we allow it to be.
Despite the long extensive queues or the jammed food counters, we can make grocery shopping a therapeutic experience. For instance, when we take our trips as an opportunity to let go of the day thus far and simply be mindful of where we are, who we are with, and of the wide array of colorful produce assembled in front of us, we have just converted our time on grocery shopping into a moment of introspection and reflection of our present. Grocery shopping can also be enjoyed as the time to be our truest self, by withdrawing the responsibility of the identities that we live by even if it lasts for a little while. Further, we could use the time at the grocery store to collect our thoughts, check in with our feelings and just observe the world around us rather than expend the effort to navigate through it.
In addition, our time shopping in the grocery could also be used as an opportunity to assist and support our community and environment. For example, we can practice sustainability at a grocery store by choosing to support local businesses and purchasing more local produce. This promotes sustainability because locally grown vegetables or fruits travel within a shorter distance and time to reach our neighborhood grocery stores. Consequently, this would benefit the environment as it helps to reduce the amount of gas emissions during transport. Choosing locally grown foods would also support our local farmers, as it would then create more demand for their produce.
Grocery shopping can be an unappealing and tedious chore especially when the stores are swarmed with people. However, we do not always have to hold on to that perception. As Abraham Hicks once said, “when you focus on the good, the good gets better”. Grocery shopping can be more than just an exhausting errand. In my opinion, it could also be a restorative, therapeutic experience as well as an opportunity to be sustainable and supportive to our community and environment. It can also be an act of care such as, supporting our families or supplying a meal for a close friend. All things considered, I think it’s time we let go of the old notion that we have on grocery shopping and instead approach our trips in a more light and thoughtful manner that I guarantee, would enable us to make the most of our shopping experience.
By Felicia Jayasputra