And I couldn't find it. All at once what should have been a mindless and routine errand became a scavenger hunt. I hunted down uncharted aisles trying to check off the needed products scrawled out on the back of a torn envelope. In the process I began to notice items that weren't on my list. I saw a new selection of organic breads, jars of exotic looking salsas and freshly cut flowers.
Smart grocers know something about human nature.
They know that, if given the chance, we will walk as if blindfolded through their store to find items exactly where we know they are supposed to be. It's in our nature to gravitate toward routines. We travel the same roads to work each day. We put our toothbrush in the same place on the holder each time we're done with it. And after a while, just as we stop seeing the new products on the shelves, we stop looking at the world around us.