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| Vishal Mart |
Today, I stepped into Vishal Mart—not with any grand plan, just a simple intention to pick up a few things. But life, as always, had something deeper to offer than the shelves full of goods.
After wandering for about an hour, I came across some ladies and gents staff carefully sorting out items, likely reorganizing the mess left behind by other customers. Their quiet focus caught my attention—and soon, I found myself unexpectedly absorbed in something much bigger than shopping.
The Cookie Confusion
In the biscuit and cookie section, I picked up two different packs of cookies, trying to decide which one to take. There was a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" offer, but I hadn't noticed it. A staff lady raised her voice slightly to remind me, "That’s the one on offer at the counter."
But I wasn’t there for offers alone. I was curious about taste and nutrition. So I asked her, "Which one is better for health?" —knowing well that most packaged snacks aren't exactly healthy. She gently suggested the one I had in my left hand.
And in that simple exchange, I saw something else—a flicker of exhaustion, the fatigue of hard work, and perhaps, unspoken worries about making ends meet.
Looking Beyond Faces
As I left the store, I didn’t just look at people. I looked into them.
- The taxi driver, parked quietly, eyes scanning the road, perhaps lost in thoughts of EMIs and school fees.
- The PWD workers, bent over their labor, were not just laying concrete but holding together fragments of their daily life.
- The garbage collector, moving through the city’s waste with dignity yet often unseen.
- The schoolteacher, walking with purpose, yet carrying the invisible weight of responsibilities and unmet aspirations.
It made me wonder—aren’t we all, in some way, just trying to survive?
Hotel Conversations & Pan Shop Realities
Later, I stopped by a local hotel, then a pan shop. I greeted the owner warmly—"Are Bhaiya, smile toh karo!"
He returned a soft smile and said, "Kya batayein bhaiya, logon ke paas paisa hi nahi hai ab. Business bilkul gir gaya hai."
Same with the samosa and tea shop, bhaiya. He shared how, once, they did transactions worth thousands daily. "Now?" Even the shop itself feels like it's shrinking."
His words stayed with me long after the tea cooled down.
Wait—am I oversimplifying?
That’s when it hit me—I had been thinking, "We all are working just to survive."
But pause.
- Is that really accurate?
- Are all people struggling the same way?
- What about those with more secure jobs, family wealth, or multiple sources of income?
- Am I lumping very different economic and emotional realities into one emotional narrative?
Maybe not everyone is just surviving. Some are surviving, yes. Others are striving. And some are silently thriving. The challenge is to see them clearly—not just through empathy, but through a lens of truth and context.
Final Thoughts: Look, Feel, Then Think
On my way back, as I gave the scooty a push and accelerated towards home, their words echoed in my mind. But even louder were my own thoughts:
- Why do we make quick conclusions from one day of observation?
- Are we genuinely understanding people’s realities or just projecting our own feelings?
- Could we be confusing momentary empathy with deep awareness?
Truth is, we must learn to feel responsibly—with heart, but also with questions. Not everything we see is the whole story.
Let's Reflect Together
So here’s a question I leave you with:
When was the last time you paused not just to sympathize with someone’s struggle—but to truly examine what led them there?
And equally—did you reflect on your own assumptions while doing it?
#CookieReflections
#EmpathyWithDepth
#EconomicRealities
#TeaShopTruths
#ThinkBeforeYouFeel
#StriveOrSurvive
#LifeInLayers
#EverySoulHasAStory
#ModernStrugglesRealTalk
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