… Old Undies!
I know Forest Gump thinks it’s like a box of chocolates, but let’s face it, that’s cos his mom said so and he wasn’t the smartest brightie in the box… I think life is more like a pair of old undies… and since undies and chocolate are a poor mix for conversation, I shall cease and desist from discussing the FG angle…
Right, undies… how?
Well it’s simple, my most comfortable pair of undies (see above) have seen better days and it’s got to the point where I genuinely do wonder what people would think if I ended up in an MVA (motor vehicle accident) for example, and had to get them off in a hurry for the doctor.
Ok, so that’s not likely to happen… it’s an odds game. I’m not likely to have an accident flying either according to the odds, but that doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable with the idea of not being able to pull over midway through a 16 hour trans Atlantic flight to check why the plane’s oil pressure is dropping. Besides, the last time I had to have an emergency general anasthetic in the bum, it turns out I wasn’t wearing underpants!
Right, once you’ve collected yourself from the floor and wiped that silly grin off your face… what? Still not? K, go away and come back when you’re at least able to put on your best pokerface.
K, that’s better (I think). So… where was I… oh yes – doctor, needle, no undies. Rather embarassing. When I was at school, I used to put my cozzie on under my clothes on PT swimming days so I could get into the pool early – I loved swimming. I also disliked the PT teachers Sgt Major impression that was aimed at ‘latecomers’. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t really latecomers, they were actually on time, it was us ‘I can change faster than Superman in a phone booth’ types who spoiled things for them. But honestly, if you can’t beat ‘em, join em – the very reason I got a cell phone. Believe it or not I have never wanted to boast about the latest technology in a tiny cancer inducing package strapped to my belt in a designer animal hide pouch. Cellphones have simply become necessary evils to keep your head above the financial high tide-mark.
Somehow I start off with undies and life and end up with an image from Stephen Spielberg’s creepshow, and you have to wonder what else lives in my noggin. Well… I aint telling… yet…
Where were we… old undies! My absolute fav are not the flash kind, or the sexy kind or even the ‘quick to the draw’ Y front kind… no, mine are the WELL WORN kind. The kind you can’t buy in the shops (aren’t we all thankful for that)… although, I must admit, I may even consider buying the equivallent in undies of ’snow washed, grunge, stone washed, well worn’ denim… provided you can sell them with a certificate of authenticity and a promise that they were artificially worn and not sent to work for a year on the butt of a poorly paid Chinese labourer in a sweatshop… and I cant’ believe I thought that, let alone wrote it…
So the pair you see in the pic at the top is my absolute fav pair. Honestly, we have grown attached. You see, they do their job and you don’t even know they are there. There are so many lessons in that one loaded sentence. Isn’t that what we are like as people? While we are young and enerjetic (sic), we tend to do things with an enthusiasm to match only our young ego and inexperience. You work hard and aim to be in the spotlight – perhaps hoping for some reward or perhaps just hoping to be noticed. Somehow as you get older, you just get on with the job silently with years of experience to guide you… and then… just as you reach your peak with wisdom , grace, patience and understanding threshed out over years of life experiences, it’s all over as quickly as it begun.
As far as the world’s concerned, you have reached your best before date and you are now a burden. If your ‘contribution’ to society can’t be measured in Rands and Cents, then it’s time to go. Even teenagers, as they grow up, get to that point where hanging out with Granny and Grandpa is not as much fun as it used to be (and it used to be FUN). And perhaps for Granny and Grandpa, the conundrum is equally as baffling since all their life they have worked hard to get a handle on this life, only to find that they don’t have the energy or the inclination to do any more when that handle takes shape.
That’s when you have to realise… we are all getting there… the worlds most famous people were far from invincible, in fact sometimes its the giants who have fallen the hardest on this one point… old man time waits for no-one. How many generations will remember us after we are gone? I guess there are a few distinct lessons here:
- Hold on tight to the ones God has given you, press on through the tough stuff, they may never thank you for it, but there will be fruit.
- The most obvious – there IS an afterlife. Life after death, and no, I’m not talking reincarnation here. Reincarnation is for the lazy – don’t get out of your hole today since you will be rewarded for enduring it tomorrow… No, this life is prep for the real thing. Of course it’s easier said than comprehended, but sometimes we just need to remind ourselves of the facts. All this prep is for a time when we never grow old… when we will be forever young.
- It’s OK to grow old and it’s inevitable, do what you can to make sure you don’t grow old with regrets… use your youth to invest in your senior years.
- Hold on tight to real wisdom, don’t despise the fact that we grow old, never despise the old and wise. Take the time to hear things from an experienced person and take the time to let them know they are loved and appreciated. You see, as you get older, the things that mattered the most to you become insignificant and the things you took for granted become the most important of all. It’s not really that hard to please an old person.
- Like Tolkein, who wasn’t around to see the real appreciation for his work, we should keep at what we are led to do for no other reason than to follow the voice that brings true peace. Leave the building to the one who knows all.
- Wear old undies with pride, those who are going to discover what you have on under your clothes either don’t count or don’t care what they look like.
Faith.. hope and love… cultivate these, instill them in your children and others closest to you… you may not be able to change the whole world, but you can certainly change someone else’s world…. and for the majority, that’s all there is and ever will be.
Sjoe! Not bad for a 3am bedtime… something tells me I am going to feel it later today!
