Sauntering With Awareness

"Men walk with purpose and urgency. Poor men saunter"

In a conversation at Home Depot, someone told me a "secret" about life. People who wander around gawking at stuff on the shelves of stores or craft shows or whatever are almost always poor. Rich people don't saunter. They do stuff intentionally and expediently. They know where they are going. They get there, get done and get out expeditiously and efficiently. Poor people bump around like a Roomba, and every time they bump into something, it costs them money - usually for something they don't need, and didn't want until the Roomba effect kicked in.

Maybe he has a valid point. Sauntering around at places designed from inception to get you to spend money is probably not a financially smart way to do things. I get what he's saying.

But there is a different kind of sauntering. I love to saunter.

But when I saunter, I'm not so much paying attention to the new and improved toothbrush at Target. I'm paying attention to the people.

It's really fun to be in public with the energy and life of others with whom I have nothing to do. But I do it with an awareness that their lives are as deep, as meaningful, as full and as important as my own. Everyone who buys groceries, attends the Arts Festival, goes to a baseball game or whatever, walks around with regrets and hurtful events in their past. They all have dreams, desires, hopes and fears. Each has a unique set of assets - skills, experience, point of view and outlook. Each is full of potential.

I believe that every one of the people I pass at the store is created for a higher purpose than they can know. Each can be more than they could ever imagine. To every one of us is attached a destiny that is as big as the universe itself. Some of them realize it. Others are sauntering around, bumping into stuff and spending money.

So, I guess I'm saying that we should all stop sauntering and begin to embrace all of that for which we are created. Except for me. I love to saunter.

But I really want to say that we all need to be kind to each other. You don't know what that person blocking the green beans has been through, how much they've endured. You don't know what they are capable of becoming or what they can accomplish. But a kind word or gesture can change their whole day. We can't dismiss people because they don't move as fast as we want them to.

And Ooh! I need that pretty bird sculpture. It would look great on my bookshelf in my living room!