Everything in life boils down to one simple fact- no matter how hard you try, you can never keep your white sneakers white (unless you make a habit out of 'popping tags'* in which case your sneakers are fresh to death every day... also, in which case, I am not speaking to you).
Allow me to explain.
White sneakers are a metaphor for our ideal lives. Perfect, bright, shiny, fresh, and full of potential... which is great, until you go outside (cue the organ music, DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN). Before you know it, you look down and see all of the stains and scuff marks; the wear and tear of simply living ruining the pristine finish you once held so dear.
Side bar incase you aren't tracking- white shoes are perfect when you get them, flawless in every way... but the moment you wear them they are instantly less perfect. 'Stains and scuff marks' equal failures, humiliations, stress, anxiety, general issues that would tarnish your fresh out the box image. Capiche?
Some people go to pain staking measures to remain (seemingly) stain free. Appearance is everything after all. We must be perfect. At our job, in our love life and friendships, anything less than perfect is failing... (these people tend to have secret drinking problems and have a high risk for implosion).
My question is, how do we deal with being imperfect ? I, for one, am not entirely sure, but I do know this-
The moment you have the perfect body you loose it (seriously, talk to body builders sometime, they are neurotic about diet and training and even they don't feel 'perfect' all the time).
The moment you have the perfect job you get stressed out...
The moment you have the perfect car someone scrapes your bumper...
The moment you have the perfect life something goes wrong; it is like clock work.
I am not saying all of this to step on your shiny white shoes, but dear lord in heaven, if all we talk/think about is being perfect we will drive ourselves insane... like Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted! Not to mention all of your friends will grow to hate you with a passion reserved for overly cooked meatloaf (the kind no amount of ketchup can save).
Push yourself to be the best version of you! Be grateful for the day ahead and the life you lead. Take a deep breath and realize imperfection makes you who you are and that is amazing! If we were all perfect life would be more boring than steamed broccoli! Also we wouldn't have the slurry of mind rotting reality TV that (some) people are addicted to (I am not one of those people, but I pass no judgment if you are).
If you are unhappy and unsatisfied with your life, figure out why and take steps towards change. Step number one- Bleach the shit out of your shoes and start over!
Step number two- Figure out what you want and how you are going to get it (there).
Personally I struggle with having 'not made it' yet... You guys I am 26 and (seemingly) successful at what I do... I WILL BE FINE! But in my brain I am panicking 89% of the time. I need to be doing more, working harder, yada yada yada... at the end of the day however, if I am actually honest with myself, I love my life. I love what I do. I have this really great guy I get to call my life partner (also known as my husband). And I live in LA (it is the WORST, DO NOT move here, you will (love) hate it).
When asked about my 'style' of work I often describe it as 'perfectly imperfect'; I think that is a beautiful way of looking at the rest of life in all its perfect imperfections. So, although my sneakers are f$%&ed, covered in more stains than a butchers apron and scuffed to the teeth, I wouldn't change a thing.
xx
*For those of you 'not in the know' the wholesome version of 'poppin or popping tags' is a term used for pulling the tags off a fresh set of sneakers or new 'fly' apparel. Also in it's not so wholesome usages, it means to pull tags or sensors off the shit you are stealing.
