“What do you mean they are all gone?”
“I just bought them.”
“I didn’t get any.”
Me – looking for the chocolate chips
Those words left my mouth with force. A force disproportional to the meager chips.
After apologizing and making amends the interaction kept playing in my head.
Why did I react that way? What was that all about, they are just chocolate chips?
The easy path is to blame this isolation, to excuse way these reactions as a “normal” reaction to being together so often.
The difficult path is honest reflection.
Asking yourself hard questions.
Trying to determine the source of the reaction in the first place.
Scarcity.
A collage of images and feelings from younger days streamed through my mind. Struggles, fears, lack of control, and sadness all observed and filtered through an earlier version of myself.
This was no longer about chocolate chips.
As we work hard to comfort others during this time, we may need to extend that comfort to ourselves (and even our former selves) as we struggle with the emotions that bubble to the surface.
Reflect on those emotions. What are they trying to tell you?
Where are your chocolate chips?
Carl Weber Consulting 