Time

On Friday I went to the fruit and veg stalls in Leeds market and had three remarkable encounters.  I've got out of the habit of getting fruit and veg from the market, because as although it is about half the price of the supermarket it does take a bit more organisation as you have to remember to go into town at lunchtime and need to carry all that you've bought back to the office.  I do like going there though as the choice and atmosphere are really fun, and I like the experience.

The third encounter was when I went to a stall for a couple of bananas.  I looked at the bananas on display and picked a couple.  As I handed them over to be weighed the stall holder seemed to wave me away.  I was a bit confused, and wondered if he didn't sell his stock in such low quantities.  I obviously looked confused as he then waved me away again and said that I could just have them.  I was quite shocked, and again this probably showed on my face.  Inside I told myself that I could not possibly take the bananas and so jokingly bantered with the stall owner that there was no way I could do that.  He eventually insisted on weighing them and showed me the price on the scales - 28p.  I gave him 40p to which he gave me 20p change.  We both smiled at each other, I said thanks, and went back to the office slightly confused but grateful and happy.  A simple encounter with another human involving niceness was a breath of fresh air. 

The second encounter was with the guy on the stall selling nice English Cox apples.  They were 2lb for 60p, but I fancied a few more than that as they are so deliciously crisp and juice. I therefore asked for about one £ worth.  He started putting apples on the scales until the total was £96p.  At that point I expected him to stop or maybe swap one of the apples for a slightly larger one, but instead he put another large apple on the scales taking the total to £1.13 and then charged me £1.  Again, such a small gesture but one that just seemed selfless and generous.

The first encounter, and the main one that struck me in it's significance, was on a stall that I've not been to for probably a couple of years, but used to go to and once bought the lady who works on it a bunch of flowers. As I was waiting in the queue the lady (I really should find out her name) clocked me, but I didn't know if she'd recognised me as it's a busy stall with hundreds of people using it each day and I was a small time customer who'd not been there for a couple of years.  When I go to the front though she smiled and said "Well hello stranger".  She looked at me and smiled and we exchanged pleasantries for maybe 5 or 10 seconds.  Whilst we were doing this the market hustle and bustle carried on all around us.  People were asking her the price of bunches of coriander or whether they could buy a whole box of mushrooms, but she just held up her hand to silence them and listened to what I was saying whilst maintaining eye contact and smiling.  For those few precious seconds I felt the most important thing to her, and that made me feel a million pounds. 

I realise that it may well sound silly, but her taking time out to ask about me, to be interested in me and to really want to know how I was sent a powerful message to me about the importance of giving people your time and attention even when there may be multitudes of other demands on you. I hope this is something I'll remember to pay more attention to in work and out of work. 

It also reminded me of a number of stories in the bible relating to Jesus.  Whether you believe in the claims that the bible makes or not, some of the stories in it are very poignant simply as tales, and this encounter reminded me of a few that are told about Jesus.  How when he was busy and thousands of people were flocking to visit him, he took himself away to make time to spend with his friends and followers.  How he spent time with people that the Jewish society he lived within hated and even considered evil.  And how by him spending time with people, and valuing them for who they were not who others considered them to be, he helped them to live better lives for the benefit of those around them.