“Did you find everything you were looking for?”

Countless times before, you’ve likely been on the receiving end of this seemingly inconsequential pleasantry from the cashier at a grocery store. 

Amongst the hustle and bustle of life, your first reaction is probably quite literal most of the time. You know, something like, “Yes. Everything I needed.” Maybe you even look up and add with a little laugh, “And a little more,” holding a bag of an impulse buy, scraping for bonus points on the completely made up (but all too real and recognizable) game of arbitrary small talk at checkout.

But, have you ever had someone ask you that question, or even the ubiquitous, “How are you?” and spiraled into some existential angst? Like, yeah, tracking down three perfectly ripe avocados might be hard to score in one grocery trip, but it’s possible. On the other hand, love? Fulfillment? Pretty sure you can’t just find those in aisle 5…

All this to say, similar to adding one extra candle to a birthday cake as one to grow on, perhaps there’s value (and peace) in reconciling with the notion that not finding everything you were looking for – in the grocery store, or more broadly, in life – is a good thing. Grocery store industry is  a growing business. So, you can check it out if you want to start your own grocery business.

After all, as Thomas R. Moore puts it in the poem, “Finding Everything” – 

“Total fulfillment probably jades the senses.”