The Sweetness of Sweeties

The Vermont Country Store catalogue arrived the other day and with it the opportunity to buy British sweeties, or candies as they are known in the United States of America. Mouthwatering as I stare at the page, memories of childhood flood over me.

From age five to eleven my sister and I walked every day up the hill to the local school. Along the way was the sweetie shop where we spent precious pennies on delicious treats. Funds were limited so the choice was extremely important. We learned quickly to be very careful that what we chose was what we really desired. Sometimes it was an ounce or two of dolly babies or cherry lips or we might go for the teeth coloring licorice formed into sticks or twirls or pipes.

At home we had a sweetie box and a biscuit (cookie) box. There was no free access to these goodies and we had to ask a parent for permission to open those special containers. We did not choose friviously or impulsively for, as with pennies for the sweetie store, the number of treats was strictly limited.

My grandmother also had a sweetie shop in a village about two miles from my parents' house. It was corner store, literally, and like the sweetie store by the school, large glass containers adorned the shelves with an amazing variety of sweets from which to choose.

In the western world, many live with a great deal of abundance where making careful choices has lost its importance. It is sad to see children having so many toys that they cannot decide what to choose and instead move impulsively from one activity to another, not having the one precious favorite that can help them settle into focused enjoyment.

Having choices has many benefits and yet so often we do not know what we deeply desire. That is a question that we might learn to live with more, for the answer to the question comes not just from carefully considerating the alternatives as we did with the sweeties as a child. When we live with the question, not trying to force an answer, then we can be suprised at what emerges with time, sometimes even new "perfect" options that we might not have thought about consciously at all.

But also remember that maybe there are no right or wrong choices and whatever we choose can be an experiment that we are just "trying on for size". If we don't like it we try again, without criticizing ourselves, and see if it is a better fit. Trial and error is another way to learn what we deeply desire.