Stop-n-Go, not Stop-n-Stay

I grew up in the city of Orange in southern California in the 1980s in apartment that I shared with my amazing mom and a zoo of odd animals. From parrots to tarantulas, I had amazing furry friends. Near my home was a convenience store called, Stop-n-Go that sold things like roller hot dogs, cigarettes, and candy for 25 cents. Often, my mom and I would pick up a box of mac-n-cheese, her cigarettes, and maybe a few pieces of candy on the way home. We came, we paid, we waved goodbye to our cashier friend, and we left. We didn’t stay. Those people that stopped and stayed were typically the local un-housed individuals, kids with nothing better to do, and those that were so high/drunk that they physically couldn’t leave. Each of these individuals were stuck, not in the store, but in their life’s situation. Without placing blame or judging them, in my perspective they were not moving forward…literally, sitting on the curb for half a day was real and their choice. I didn’t know their story and was too young, too scared to ask, but I did take away a life lesson. The marketing and branding team at Stop-n-Go didn’t name the convenience store Stop-n-Stay on purpose! They want to temporarily serve the neighborhood when they needed it and let them move on. So, what life lesson did I take from Stop-n-Go many MANY years ago?

It’s perfectly fine to stop for awhile (ie. pause), but it’s necessary to continue on. I like to think about slowing down to speed up, slowing down to gather, slowing down to explore where I want to go next.

So, stop and go! Slow down to empathize so that you can compassionately take action!

w.e.,
sD