As soon as the bell on the door chimed to announce his arrival, I nodded in recognition and greeted him with a smile. He said, "I love it so much! It's wonderful!" raising his arm in tribute to the new tiger's eye mala that adorned his wrist.
We first met him several Fridays ago when he first came to our store. His portly figure filled his bright orange overalls. He browsed our selection of beaded bracelets. I recommended an 8mm tiger's eye mala with metal spacer beads marked with the six-syllable mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. When he tried it on, we saw that he needed a larger size.
We searched our inventory and were saddened to tell him that we did not have the larger size on hand, especially given that tiger's eye malas are highly sought after. He said, "Please check again. I'll stop by tomorrow." The doorbell announced his departure.
Closing time approached, yet we all wondered the same thing: should we make him a custom mala bracelet? We had the right stones on hand, the right spacers, and a little bit of time. After some hesitation, a colleague said, "Let's have faith that he'll return.”We set about stringing the new mala with positive intentions for its hopeful new wearer. We tucked it into an organza drawstring gift pouch and placed it on the counter.
The next morning we resumed with our opening rituals. We hung the prayer flag and mounted the prayer wheel in front of the store. The bell on the door announced a visitor: the man seeking the tiger's eye mala returned.
My colleagues' eyes lit up. We retrieved the mala for him. He put his fingers through, and slid it along his wrist, settling just below his tattoo. He smiled in admiration, like being rejoined with a long-lost treasure. When the bell on the door once again announced his departure, we wished for this mala to accompany him in an abundance of health and peace.
His short visits showing us that this mala still accompanies him have become a ritual of shared joy for all of us. It's a quiet reminder that kindness between people is often hidden in subtle acts.
