1. The first time I went to a supermarket in the U.K. I asked a staff member where the parcel counter was located. The chap responded with a befuddled look and directed me to the Post Office. “We don’t do parcels here mate,” “try the Post Office,” he said busily but politely.
2. I quickly realised that we were at very different wavelengths but by then he had already disappeared into the aisles. He was a busy chap. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. I had a satchel and a bag of goods from another shop.
3. There weren’t any security guards at the door. I was fortunate to see another staffer. She was older, slower and looked more relaxed. I asked her the same question. She was also confused by my inquiry. I quickly rescued her by explaining what I meant by a “parcel counter”.
4. I told her that I wanted to leave my bags at the parcel counter so that I could enter the shop. “Oh!” she let out an exclamation of someone who had just solved a hard puzzle. “You can just go in with your bags, m’love!” she said with a smile and a generous wave of the hand.
5. I was taken aback. I smiled back but decided I should explain that back home in Zimbabwe you have to leave your bags at a parcel counter. You get a token and get your bags back after you’re done shopping. “Oh!” she said with a pleasant laugh “It’s alright here me darling!”
6. She was amiable. I laughed nervously as I got in with my bags. It took me a few weeks, probably months, to be fully comfortable with this new arrangement. The bags were always “heavy” in my hands. Looking back, it’s as if I didn’t have confidence in my newly found freedom.
7. I was supposed to feel free, to get in and out of shops with my bags, but somehow it felt so wrong. I always feared someone would accuse me of having nicked goods and that I would have to explain myself. I did not trust this freedom that I was supposed to enjoy. I feared it!
8. I would have been a lot happier leaving my bags at the parcel counter. That is what I was used to. It’s amazing how when you get freedom, you can still be a prisoner of your mind. The mind is a powerful aspect of our lives. It’s easy to see why some are suspicious of freedom.
9. The true story is also a powerful metaphor. When you have been restricted all your life, you begin to be suspicious of freedom. You question a system that allows you liberty. I was so comfortable with restrictions that I became suspicious of freedom when I encountered it!
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