29 March 2021
Context
The sudden lockdown notice sends me to get chicken strips for hubby’s dinner, which inspires lyrics by The Eagles to run through my head
Yawn! Rise and shine; it’s a beautiful day off to breakfast. The commute down the hallway to the study had traffic in the form of a ginger and white cat 🐈 blocking the path. I went into the study, logged on to work. An hour and a half in, I get a call from my husband. Huh? I wonder what’s up; he never calls me through the day. Must be important.
“Hi, honey. What’s up?” I asked a little concernedly. “Aha, hmmm …, okay. Will do. Bye!”. That was my husband telling me that the greater Brisbane was going into a three-day lockdown as of 5:00 pm today. He would be working from home until Good Friday and asked whether I would pick up some chicken strips for dinner. Our world just changed, and my husband wanted chicken strips? Okay. While I was out, I might as well get some Easter chocolates for the family.
The last time there was a whiff of a lockdown, there were long queues at the stores. It was still early; perhaps I’d miss the rush. I rescheduled a meeting for this afternoon. I grabbed the car keys, didn’t even bother to change out of my comfy house painting and gardening tracky dacks (tracksuit pants) and left. No time to question what the lockdown entailed – do that later. Go, go, go! The plan was to go to the supermarket, duck in, grab the chicken strips and get out. Luckily, our weekly shop got done yesterday; we’ve got groceries for the week.
The Eagles' begin on a Dark Desert Highway
As partly anticipated, there were many people at the store! There wasn’t a queue going into the supermarket. “And I was thinking to myself this could be heaven or this could be Hell” (Eagles, 1976). The supermarket was busy. Being vegetarian, I rarely purchased the meat components on our shopping list. Where were they? A helpful shop assistant! Thank you, “then she lit up the candle and showed me the way” (Eagles, 1976), figuratively speaking, of course.
Then it was time to go to the checkout. The queue was very long, one long, long, long line. It went up the length of one aisle across the back of all the aisles, past the “fresh meat” section – oh, that’s where it is! Right to the deli section. Using the trolleys as part of social distancing doesn’t help the queue look shorter. The whole scene could “wake you up in the middle of the night” (Eagles, 1976).
While it initially looked like people panic buying, I was pleasantly surprised and proud that, for the most part, it didn’t seem to be the case. Pleasantly surprised, bring the “… pink champagne on ice” (Eagles, 1976). Most people where I was, weren’t panic buying. Just bringing their grocery shopping forward, “it was a nice surprise” (Eagles, 1976). People, not panic buying, was supported by the lovely woman and her daughter in the queue in front of me. They had brought their Easter shop forward from Wednesday.
We are all Just Prisoners Here - The Eagles
The gentleman behind me was responsible for locating an item on his wife’s shopping list and didn’t know what it was. He showed me and my other queue neighbours (woman and daughter), and we didn’t know what it was. My mind went to chocolate, but that’s just my go-to 😁. Then the daughter wanted to “gather for the [Easter] feast” (Eagles, 1976). Of course! The woman and I continued to chat after all, “we are all just prisoners here, of our own device” (Eagles, 1976).
We passed a couple more aisles while waiting, and the woman and I looked at the man’s list again. The missing shopping list item loomed like a beast, and even though the man said not to worry, he was worried. The woman and man tried to “stab it with their steely [mental] knives” and arrived at success. It was laundry powder!
Of course, by this time, we were fast becoming friends and chatting amiably. Time seemed to pass the time, and “the last thing I remember was running toward the door [of the last aisle]” (Eagles, 1976). Not running, but as we passed the frozen poultry section, I had found my way back to the passage where I’d been before (Eagles, 1976).
Relax did the right man (Eagles, 1976) as his wife approached after her hair appointment. She was pleased to see he’d managed to get all the things on the shopping list. Ah, happy wife, happy life. The secret of the shopping list beast never escaped from our lips .
Anyway, found out the woman and her daughter had a cat, how they came by the cat and the cat’s favourite kitty litter. Also, the second daughter/sister was due to visit from regional Queensland for Easter (hopefully).
Programmed to Receive
Life in the queue continued for quite some time, and now the song lyrics moved on to “you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!” (Eagles, 1976). Then just when we (woman, her daughter and me) were entering discussions about our favourite ice creams, we were called to the checkouts by the “maître d’ checkout”. To make our parting easier, it seemed that the universe called us to checkouts that were side by side.
My shopping being less meant I finished earlier. There was an awkward moment, like in a one-night stand, where you’re saying goodbye but realise you don’t know the person’s name. Not quite as uncomfortable, I suppose, but you wish each other a wonderful Easter and ah blank ah, and happy life was implied but not said. You’re not likely to see each other again. Seriously, we would have hugged if it weren’t for COVID restrictions – I guess we’re “programmed to receive” (Eagles, 1976). It was adorable. At home, I packed away the chicken strips. Happy husband.
No More Eagles
Once at home, I jumped onto Twitter to get the latest update and discovered that the shops would remain open for essentials like always. The update made me realise that this might affect the travel plans of our interstate visitors due to begin arriving in two days, the first of which was my mother. My mother, who just turned 80, was understandably upset as she is in the high-risk category and is unlikely to want to travel. If the situation worsens, she may need to pull out of the fourth scheduled attempt for us to catch up.
I also called the physio to see whether I could go swimming and suss out whether I needed to apologise. Darn, the physio had left for the day. Guess atonement and swimming will have to wait.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Analysis
Carryover Cards
Carry over cards were: The Fool from Now to Influence. Exhaustion from Others’ Views to Distant Past.
Cross
Yesterday we spoke of The Fool’s ability to trust and not be daunted by a world that takes advantage. Today, The Fool’s influence on the Now is of Maturity; Maturity has wisdom. It’s like two sides of Innocence; if halved, you would get these two cards. The Fool is trust, and Maturity is wisdom, and today’s aisle journey would not have been possible if it weren’t for their respective influences. Maturity knows when and when not to engage.
The Goal of The Lovers reflects today’s journey. The Lovers are about two individuals coming together, and their mutual respect creates a fragrance. The Lovers card is not about sexual love. You can have a lovers style asexual relationship. A quote from Osho for The Lovers is, “Sex is the seed, love is the flower, compassion is the fragrance” (p15).
In the supermarket, the woman and I formed a bond; our respect for each other allowed us to build a “loving” friendship (however temporary). The bond blossomed, and the fragrance of compassion enabled us to help others, like the man trying to decipher his wife’s shopping list. The scent drifted to his wife when she returned, pleased to find a completed shopping list.
From the perspective of today’s Now, Exhaustion builds on Maturity. Particularly if you realise the exhaustion comes from your choices. Suppose you can control anger by staying mindful and reading nuances.
Recent Past of Possibilities for my day opened when I got the phone call from my husband about the lockdown.
Future Energy is Going with the Flow; its meaning is knowing when to speak and not speak. Connecting with the lady in the queue was just as easy as drifting on a lilo down the river. Also, concerning my physio, I didn’t try to fight the situation
Base
Feelings/ Immediate Future has the card of Sorrow. The phone call from my mother concerned that she won’t be able to visit.
Others’ Views has the card of Intensity. People see me as being different – but in a good way. 🤔
Hopes & Fears has the card of Receptivity. Hope today was to be open to the mood that was going on around me. Realising that there is the potential when going into lockdown where people might be more highly stressed than usual, stay alert and cheerful. Also, the people in the meeting I rescheduled were receptive. Another hope was that people would not get aggressive toward the cashiers. Fear that people were not receptive to a change based on circumstances (wasn’t the case).
The Outcome is We are the World. We are the World is when everyone bands together for a common cause. I think today went that way from the restrained shopping to the tolerance for the queue (nobody seemed to get angry).
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
- Henley D, Frey GL, Fielder D (The Eagles), 1976, Hotel California
