This canine Bow Tie o’ the Day is somewhere in my Top 25 all-time fave bow ties in my collection. I like everything about it: its jumbo size, its plaid, its mutts, and its combo o’ colors. It’s perfectly snappy.
While I was in the waiting room at my hearing doctor this morning, something got me thinking about my life—in terms of my bigly little contributions to civilization. It’s a mentally healthy thing to do, to periodically navel-gaze—to critically assess where you are and what you are. It’s a way to sort of give yourself a grade. Am I getting an “A” at being true to who I am? Am I passing the course called Good Character? Does what I do, and how I behave, represent what I say I value and believe? Can I do more for others? Can I be more for others? What legacy—if any—would I leave behind if I were to die today? Has my life made a positive difference to anyone? Am I at peace with what I have done with my existence? You know those kinds of questions. There are a million of them.
We answer those existential questions about ourselves with varying levels of satisfaction at different times in our lives. If we’re honest with ourselves, sometimes the answers to those questions are painfully humbling. We fall short. It’s especially at those times that it is wise to re-chart our course. We have to take responsibility for letting ourselves down with our heretofore unproductive choices, and we must vow to do so much better at living our own true soul out loud. In short, we have to change. Again and again, ad infinitum. It begins with forgiving ourselves for being the imperfect human beings we all are.
Cut yourself some slack, y’all. Give yourself a bear hug and carry on.
Perfect advice for imperfect beings!