Don't Forget to Laugh
I ordered some new sneakers - or kicks, to all you
youtes; I’m sorry, Your Honor, youuuthhhs - the other day. Weeks earlier in San
Diego, I had tried on the stylish Reebok Nylon Classics in a half size too big,
the closest they had to my actual size. I planned on my next payday to obtain
ones in my size via the interweb marketplace that’s bringing death to the American
retail experience (Way to help out, Dan!). This brings us to yesterday, which
shall live in infamy.
My new shoes arrived and I was anxious to road-test them, so I laced them up and set out on an odyssey from 9th and Irving to a top secret location in the Richmond District (it’s my boring study group meeting; I’m trying to spice this up). Armed with a nitro cold-brew from Starbucks (new obsession – it’s like a breakfast Guinness), I made it about forty-five minutes into my walk when I realized that I badly had to pee because of all the coffee. So, I alighted into the shrubbery of Golden Gate Park to relieve myself. The shoes, up until that point, had performed admirably.
Smote was I by the vengeful hand karma! For I immediately stepped in what I really hoped was four-legged animal poop, but I’m relatively certain was from a biped. It was a nightmare. Worst case new-shoe scenario: my beloved new sneaks befouled. Who, I ask you, would do such a thing to me?! Surely, definitely, absolutely, I would never do such a thing to them.
I let myself curse the rogue pooper and the world in general up and down for about five minutes. For five minutes I embraced my frustration and anger - and then a moment of clarity hit me: I was the responsible party. I was the antagonist. I tread off the paved pathway into the unknown and should not have been surprised to find calamity in such a place. I didn’t look where I stepped because I was distracted, and this led to a predictable result.
Then I laughed. How silly to be upset at a stranger who meant me no harm? How ridiculous to be mad at someone for not having ready access to a toilet? That’s what led me to the situation in the first place. Of course, you stepped in crap in your brand-new shoes. Would it have been all that much better in any other pair, man?
To expand upon this principle, there’s no point in being angry at someone for attempting to fix their shitty (heyoooo) situation, even if it isn’t in the proper, just or morally optimal way. Like Marcus Aurelius said, the best revenge is to not be like that. We are all fallible and imperfect. We all have moments in our pasts that we wish we could fix or do differently in the first place. We’ve all failed, some of us spectacularly.
Digging further, even doing everything right isn’t a guarantee of success. The clearly more-qualified politician you voted for didn’t win. Your clearly more-qualified-self got skipped over for a promotion. Some guy cut in supermarket checkout line in front of you. Your heart was broken. You got sick. Your new motorcycle tire has two nails in it (this happened this week also, but the poop-shoe story is better).
How lucky you are to live in a democracy, to have a job, to have money, to have a vehicle, to have been loved and to be alive. How lucky you are to have the mettle to deal with challenges that life throws your way. Thank goodness calamity struck you and not someone else who isn’t as resilient. You were born and raised to survive.
My life was never going to be easy. My fate will always present obstacles. All I can do is learn the lessons I’m presented with and not forget to laugh along the way.
My new shoes arrived and I was anxious to road-test them, so I laced them up and set out on an odyssey from 9th and Irving to a top secret location in the Richmond District (it’s my boring study group meeting; I’m trying to spice this up). Armed with a nitro cold-brew from Starbucks (new obsession – it’s like a breakfast Guinness), I made it about forty-five minutes into my walk when I realized that I badly had to pee because of all the coffee. So, I alighted into the shrubbery of Golden Gate Park to relieve myself. The shoes, up until that point, had performed admirably.
Smote was I by the vengeful hand karma! For I immediately stepped in what I really hoped was four-legged animal poop, but I’m relatively certain was from a biped. It was a nightmare. Worst case new-shoe scenario: my beloved new sneaks befouled. Who, I ask you, would do such a thing to me?! Surely, definitely, absolutely, I would never do such a thing to them.
I let myself curse the rogue pooper and the world in general up and down for about five minutes. For five minutes I embraced my frustration and anger - and then a moment of clarity hit me: I was the responsible party. I was the antagonist. I tread off the paved pathway into the unknown and should not have been surprised to find calamity in such a place. I didn’t look where I stepped because I was distracted, and this led to a predictable result.
Then I laughed. How silly to be upset at a stranger who meant me no harm? How ridiculous to be mad at someone for not having ready access to a toilet? That’s what led me to the situation in the first place. Of course, you stepped in crap in your brand-new shoes. Would it have been all that much better in any other pair, man?
To expand upon this principle, there’s no point in being angry at someone for attempting to fix their shitty (heyoooo) situation, even if it isn’t in the proper, just or morally optimal way. Like Marcus Aurelius said, the best revenge is to not be like that. We are all fallible and imperfect. We all have moments in our pasts that we wish we could fix or do differently in the first place. We’ve all failed, some of us spectacularly.
Digging further, even doing everything right isn’t a guarantee of success. The clearly more-qualified politician you voted for didn’t win. Your clearly more-qualified-self got skipped over for a promotion. Some guy cut in supermarket checkout line in front of you. Your heart was broken. You got sick. Your new motorcycle tire has two nails in it (this happened this week also, but the poop-shoe story is better).
How lucky you are to live in a democracy, to have a job, to have money, to have a vehicle, to have been loved and to be alive. How lucky you are to have the mettle to deal with challenges that life throws your way. Thank goodness calamity struck you and not someone else who isn’t as resilient. You were born and raised to survive.
My life was never going to be easy. My fate will always present obstacles. All I can do is learn the lessons I’m presented with and not forget to laugh along the way.
