Molly Henderson was a stay-at-home mom with three kids and a husband who was hardly ever around, and even when he was around he was still somewhere else. Every morning Molly would wake up and instantly feel a dark cloud descend over her. She knew she was depressed, but she didn't have the foggiest idea what to do about it.
One day while making the kids' lunches she spotted something outside out of the corner of her eye that made her heart leap. She put down the slice of bread she had in her hand and walked closer to the window. An old bag lady was trudging slowly down the street lugging a small bag over her left shoulder. Molly stared at her for a few minutes wondering why on earth this sight caused such a strong reaction inside of her. Feeling a little sheepish, she went back to fixing the lunches and the rest of her day.
Several months passed without anything eventful occurring. The only thing that changed was the depression that slowly but surely pervaded every cell in Molly's body. It became more and more of an effort to get out of bed every day and take care of the kids and the house, and she was starting to wonder why she even bothered. With the depression came this nagging feeling that something was being overlooked. No matter how much she tried to figure it out it still remained a mystery.
On one cold, brisk morning in early November, Molly woke up with a start. She suddenly had this overwhelming urge to go to the supermarket even though she had just gone the day before She didn't know what to make of it, so she decided to ignore the impulse. After she sent the two oldest kids off to school, she sat down with her three-year-old, Toby. Suddenly Toby looked up at her with his big, brown eyes and said, "Shopping!!" A tingling sensation traveled up her spine as she asked him what he needs to go shopping for. "FOOD!!" he replied with lots of enthusiasm as he proceeded to jump up and down.
"This is just too much," Molly thought as she tried to get her bearings. She turned on the TV and was immediately assaulted with an obnoxious commercial about the new supermarket down the street. The remote control clattered against the hardwood floor as Molly's shaking hands picked up Toby and then her keys. She didn't believe in signs, but her curiosity couldn't help but get the better of her.
She walked quickly down the sidewalk with Toby on her hip, who clapped his hands and cheered, "Shopping! Food!!" in her ear the whole way. She arrived at the grocery store and was about to walk inside when something caught her attention. The old bag lady that she had seen several months before was resting in front of the pile of firewood for sale on the side of the building. Logic took a vacation as she was pulled towards this woman by a force completely unknown to her.
Seconds later she was standing in front of her not knowing what to say or do, but, surprisingly, not caring. Toby squirmed and squirmed, so she put him down. He immediately ran over to the bag lady and gave her a huge hug. "Toby, no!..." Molly yelled but suddenly stopped as her eyes met the other woman's. Looking into her dark brown eyes, her depression lifted from her as if a gentle hand reached in and scooped it all up.
Her mind stopped its incessant chatter, and a pervading peace swept through her. The peace became her as she surrendered completely to it. In that moment she had finally found herself in the eyes of a woman who could just simply be. Owning nothing, wanting nothing, this woman wore pieces of fabric she had found on the street. The small bag caught Molly's attention, so she gently asked what was inside of it.
The woman opened it up for Molly to see and they both laughed delightedly as the bag floated away.
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