No, not D’Angelo’s song.
I’m talking me as a kid on Fordham Road at the Payless Store.
“How does it feel?”
The question my mom would ask as I tried on new footwear.
"Where is your big toe?"
As she pressed against the front of my shoe.
“Walk in them, let me see, are they comfortable?”
Trying things on is a gift.
I can’t be 100% sure if these will fit me, but I’ll never know until I try them on.
I’m not stuck, I don’t have to keep them.
Are they too tight?
Uncomfortable?
Ok, try these.
The gift of trying things on is an opportunity to be real with ourselves.
Are these uncomfortable because they are new and I need to break them in? (practice)
Or are these uncomfortable because they don’t fit me. (not for me)
When newness comes she usually brings discomfort along with her. The job is deciding which discomfort is worth it.
The more we are real with ourselves as we try things on, the more we can see ourselves.
I like this. I don’t like this.
I don’t like how these look on me. I like how these look on me.
Yet often, there is more truth to discover.
I don’t like how I would look in front of my “friends” in these.
Yup, sometimes I would lie. I would say the shoe was uncomfortable when it was me that was uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable wearing Payless shoes in front of my “friends”.
Are the shoes uncomfortable or we don’t feel comfortable in the shoes?
What about the work we do? Our dreams, our goals?
Uncomfortable or uncomfortable doing it in front of our friends, family, and co-workers?
The gift of trying things on: If we are honest we'll see that more times than not we are afraid, and what hurts is our big toe ego.
But might the discomfort be worth it?
Try it on.
How does it feel?