I wish I could say I was joking, or that this was purely clickbait, but several months ago I actually found a beetle in a jar of dill pickles from my local Walmart. The image of the beetle on this post is the actual one I pulled from the jar. I won’t name the location of the Walmart, and frankly, after jars of pickles sit on the shelves for months, I can’t guarantee which Walmart we bought them at – and there are probably millions of the same jars out there, hopefully beetle free though.

When I pulled the shiny, solid, dark, quarter sized object from the jar I had a few decisions to make. One: what else was I going to feed my daughter after she asked specifically for dill pickles? Two: do I waste the entire jar, which was full, or do I acknowledge that we likely inadvertently eat bugs all the time, and just carry on. Three: do I contact Walmart to see what options they would suggest?

I couldn’t bring myself to pretend the beetle didn’t exist

I couldn’t bring myself to pretend the beetle didn’t exist and feed the pickles to my child, and frankly, I haven’t touched a dill pickle since. I’m sure I might one day, but the memory is too fresh, and while I know the beetle is most certainly harmless, it doesn’t do much to spark an appetite. I chose to throw away the contents of the jar, and after taking a photo of my new, well preserved friend, I threw them away too. This left option three, calling Walmart to see what we could do.

The call was pleasant, and while we weren’t looking for any compensation or damages, it would have been nice to at least get a replacement jar of pickles and an acknowledgement that they would look into their quality control process. Unfortunately, we received neither. We were told that Walmart would open “a case” and would respond once they knew more. Perhaps they are manually checking millions of jars of pickles to see if this is a more widespread issue, or perhaps they’ve simply added beetles to the list of ingredients and moved on, but the point is – we’ve been left dissatisfied. Will this stop me from shopping at Walmart? No, and in fact, we’ve been there many times since, as it’s a staple on our shopping route, along with a couple other large stores and a mix of smaller local stores. One bug in a jar, and one lacklustre example of customer support wasn’t enough for us to hold a grudge.

I like to look at life this way. We will have countless interactions in our lifetime where were are left dissatisfied with how we were treated, or longing for better customer service, but we have a choice in how much we allow that one interaction to re-shape us. Have you ever held a grudge with such stubborn resolve that you knew you would never let it go? Now, think for a moment what the cause of that grudge was, and if it really warranted removing that person from your life forever. There are likely times where someone has wronged us to such an extent that they should no longer be part of our lives, and it’s probably better for our mental health if we eliminate them from our days completely, but I think we can all agree that there are many more people in our lives that we may have chosen to isolate for reasons that likely didn’t warrant a lifelong ban. Let’s consider a few examples.

If someone lies to you at work, do you refuse to work with them ever again? Do you quit your job? Do you lie back? Or, do you carry on working with them, ensuring that your career isn’t jeopardized by their actions, but now you do it with a heightened awareness of those around you and where their true interests lie. By demonstrating how well you can work with others, especially those who struggle with their own integrity, YOU will be the one who arrives at the other end successfully – Karma will take care of the rest.

We can forgive without forgetting

If someone in our personal life wrongs us, or perhaps you’re at the epicentre of a family dispute, do we cut blood relatives out of our lives completely? Do we change our name and move away? Do we prevent our children and grandchildren from seeing important relatives because of a grudge we hold but they have nothing to do with? Again, there are times when someone has been wronged, abused, or hurt in such a way that there may be no room for reconciliation, and in some cases there shouldn’t be, but in many cases, our pride will force us to hold a grudge far longer than we should. Imagine the countless beautiful memories we might miss out on, or the loving embrace of family if we choose to be stubborn. We can forgive without forgetting, and if we choose to forgive, or at least move on, the things we learned along the way will only make us stronger – forgive…don’t forget.

If your favourite band releases a song that you just can’t stand, do you immediately clear your music collection of their content and vow to never listen to them again? I can think of many times when my favourite band has released a song that has me questioning why I listen to them at all. But then I play one of their hits, or one of their hidden gems, and remember why they will always be my number one choice. I will certainly never forget a crappy song, but I will forgive them for it, and will choose to continue listening to the great ones.

A vibrant display of my desire to hold a grudge

So, what do we do with Walmart? I am sure I will eat dill pickles again, and one day when the memory fades I might even buy them at Walmart. Will I call them back and demand an answer for the lacklustre customer service? Probably not. In fact, for the most part the customer service I’ve received at Walmart is about what should be expected – nice enough staff, products we need, prices we can afford, nothing more and nothing less. I could have returned the jar for an immediate refund, and I’m sure they would have honoured it, but anything beyond that would simply be a vibrant display of my desire to hold a grudge and prove a point, all while only proving that I can get angry and stress myself out over something as small as a bug in a jar.

Walmart I forgive you. I won’t forget the beetle in the pickles, but I won’t let that stop me from enjoying what you have to offer.

Let’s all do a little more forgiving, and when we don’t have it in us to forget, let’s learn from the experience and and take the opportunity to become stronger – I call it Karmatunity.