Vegetable Stand

“Hello, hello,” I called out loudly, but silence greeted me. There was no one in charge of the vegetable stand. It was an unassuming, rustic, road-side produce farm that I passed on my way home late last summer. I needed zucchini and tomatoes and they had a lot of them. I was flummoxed. There was only a small box with a sign to put money there and to take needed change. How would they know if I ran off without paying? How could they possibly have a business like this? I opened the box, put my money in (with considerable other cash in there) and left. A few days later I passed the same stand and a farmer was putting things out so I stopped to talk with him and ask him why he had that box—it seemed unwise. “You see, “ he told me, “I got tired of living in a world where I didn't trust others. I really thought about it—really thought long and hard—and I figured that most everyone is good and decent, but we run around fussing over and worrying about those few who aren’t. Don't want to give them space in my heart I decided. I want to live in the world I believe in, so I decided to. I plant my plants, take care of them, sell them and enjoy my family and my time with passers-by like you.” So I asked him if he lost much money. “See, that’s people’s first question. Ain’t that sad? Shouldn’t the first question be about how much I make?” He shook his head, “and let me tell you, I don’t feel like I’ve lost a penny. Maybe one or two got away. But you know what? Most people are good folk and decent. We’re all in this world together.” He swept his arm out to the fields, the sky, the house, the gleaming vegetables around us, and then to me, and continued: “And that’s the world that I want to wrap around me and my family. Around all of us.” He smiled and went back to his plants.
So, my friends, I want to do that also. I remember this man often and think of his wisdom. And while we can’t all be farmers and have his kind of lifestyle, we can have it inside of us. We are the creators of our own lives. External circumstances challenge us all, but, ultimately we choose. We choose. And I choose to put that box outside my produce stand and assume the best from most (most!) of my fellow travelers of this life.

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