Mindful shopping and the magic of waiting in line!
Modernity has reshaped our essentials—food, clothes, shelter. Things once considered luxuries are now necessities. As a friend once said, our wants have slowly turned into needs. We blur the line and push desires into that category.
App-based shopping and delivery have condensed the physical act of shopping into a few clicks. One instance comes to mind: at a gathering, a friend making a lovely meal forgot curry leaves. She quickly tried ordering, only to end up with a whole tree! Often, we struggle to gauge simple measures like 100 gm versus 200 gm through an app.
Delivery riders risk life and limb — jumping signals, riding the wrong way, squeezing through gaps — pressured by 10-minute or even 6-minute delivery promises in order to get a good customer review. Is it even worth it for them to take such risks?
Traditional purchasing was always about relationships – whether it is with a kAi-kari anna riding door to door on a tricycle, or a visit to the local vegetable market. Today, organic or conventional, we lack the time or ability to make eye contact, or any kind of simple conversation with the vendor. When it comes to organic foods purchased via e-tail, authenticity and traceability are even further from the dialogue.
That is why I always like to make a trip to reStore as much as possible. One gets to see the authenticity of the products as they get delivered. I can see the care and pain taken to store them for freshness in the most natural way possible. For instance, you get to see small cloth bags with medicinal herbs lying in some of your staples. This prevents them from getting infested. I get to witness and understand the value system and adopt the same.
The present scenario around our style of consumption reminds me of “Wabi-Sabi,” the Japanese concept of embracing imperfections. I had long lost that nature, but a book on it helped me re-evaluate. Imperfections and restrictions push creativity and reflect the natural order.
It is time we embrace delays, imperfections, unfinished business, and shortfalls. A meal garnished with love is enough. Waiting in line to buy supplies is valuable—it becomes a form of standing meditation, an opportunity to observe or converse with others. As a friend said, “There is magic behind waiting in lines.”
At reSore, I have always had the chance to talk to folks about the various farms from where they source the food while waiting in the line to get billed. If you are lucky, sometimes you even get to see and taste samples of freshly made food, right there by the suppliers. One day, I saw a kind lady handing out bowls of hot steamed natural idiyappam with jaggery for tasting. It was heavenly. I have also eaten fresh cut watermelons, tender coconuts, banana muffins, padaneer… What not! Who wouldn’t want to wait in a line at reStore?
These are also organic ways to socialise. These are aspects of life we may have left behind. Why pay and organise this when it is accessible naturally? After all, isn’t this human touch the one thing we have to nurture against AI? Let it flourish.
About the author: Gayathri Vijayakumar is a long-term reStore customer and works as an Engineer. As a mother she constantly strives to make things better for the next generation, and enjoys associating with others in this direction.