Lesson at the Ice Cream Shop

At an ice cream shop that promises pleasure I ordered my necessary flavor of the day- chocolate. The flavor of decadence, comfort, familiarity and uncomplicated enjoyment. 

I’d noticed the server struggle to scoop the overly hard, fresh out of the deep freeze flavor to the man in front of me.  She persevered and served him his chocolate cone. As mentioned, I ordered mine and watched the struggle to scoop again and had no reason to believe her struggle would effect me in any way. She was doing her job, her prescribed role and I basically participated in the demand. Half way thru her wrestling with what was to be my scoop, she paused, removed the flavor identification card from the display and returned to her task. I received my little pleasure and started to walk away. Then...

The man behind me ordered chocolate as well. The deliverer of goodness simply replied “it is not available at this time”. I walked away and did not hear the customers response. Did he say “unfair”, did he feel he was the recipient of injustice? Did he share with his friends the inequity and the unarguable fact that his pleasure was compromised? I don’t know those answers but I do know that i learned something from the ice cream server. Sometimes, you have to deny others pleasure to take care of yourself and in doing this, there is a deeper more satisfying agreement to be allowed to be human. To share together in lifes complicated web of give and take, empathy and justice, understanding and limitation. 

In my life I want the bigger pleasure. The pleasure of allowing myself and others to take care of themselves. To sometimes NOT have my scoop (so to speak) in the interest of alleviating the struggle for another.  I want to support and be supported in the quest to acquire life’s perfect chocolate ice cream.