Human Blossom

Sunday Grocery Gang members. Suryakanta Ba in the middle

For the past several years, I have been taking Ba and some of her friends for grocery shopping trips on Sundays. This Sunday we had the car packed with Ba, Hansoiya Ba, Kanta Ba, and first timer 91-year Suryaakanta Ba. Suryakanta Ba is the oldest of all, and she may be the sweetest. She is very cheerful,  always upbeat, sensitive, regularly wears a warm and friendly smile, and is always happy to give blessings.

We were in the grocery store and as she was picking vegetables she accidentally swiped Ba’s face with her hand, knocking off her glasses. I didn’t see it, but when I came over to them Suryakanta Ba was very gently stroking Ba and asking her repeatedly if she was alright and cursing herself for being so careless. I asked what happened, and she explained she accidentally hit her and it was a very wrong thing to do. Then, in the sweetest way, with tears welling up in her eyes and throat, in English she said “sorry” to Ba. It was the gentlest, sweetest thing I had every witnessed an old person do. It felt monumental for such an old person to so humbly apologize for anything. Even the stranger next to us, who also was startled by the sweetness, looked over and smiled at the exchange.

When you witness a beautiful flower in bloom, it can feel like all the beauty of the world has been funneled in and poured into that single moment. Or into a sunset or starry night. To me this moment felt like a human blossom. For a moment I forgot everything else and was reminded how beautiful the world can be.