That's some heavy shit...

I saw a quote the other day, and at first I thought "Man, that's some heavy shit."

The quote is this: 'I cried because I had no shoes, 'till I met a man who had no feet.'

I've done a few google searches, trying to find where that quote came from, but no one really seems to know. Most often, it seems to be used by someone wanting someone else to look at their post/blog and think, much as I did, "Man, that's some heavy shit." I guess it makes them feel like they're on a deeper level than the rest of us.

My question is this: Why does everyone automatically assume this person with no feet is in such a sorry state, that we can use them as a way to reassure ourselve that we havent fallen that far yet. That's a pretty ignorant way of looking at the world. There are people out there that have had a really rough deal in life, and they're probably much happier and more content with their lives than I am with my own. I like to think I'm a pretty normal guy. I'm in my mid-twenties, going to university, living in a beautiful city, and working a decent job. Not too much to worry about when you get right down to it.

Well...surprise. I worry about stupid, pointless shit all the time. I don't know why, obviously my priorities are a bit fucked up, considering the sorry state of the world today. Do you want to know what my number one priority is? Me. I'm always looking out for myself, but probably not in the way you'd think. See, I'm always doing my best to portray a certain image of myself. A way I want everybody else to see me. Unfortunately, I just don't see myself in the positive way I want everybody else to see me. I'm constantly questioning myself, unsure of how other people perceive me. I just hate that feeling of...I hesitate to say rejection...it's more of a dismissal. Even walking down the street, I feel like nobody sees me most of the time. I convince myself that they've looked long enough to realize I'm not worth a second glance, and I'm forgotten. It's almost instantaneous. Most of the time I don't even feel like I get the glance. I'm just not worth the time it takes to look up, maybe?

Let's not jump to any conclusions. I don't think I'm falling into a deep depression, or anything like that. I've just been so self-conscious for so long now that it's like it's second-nature. We've all heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy, well maybe that's what this is. I convinced myself long ago that people only see me as a big loser. Sure, I have some good friends that I know care about me, but I just can't shake the feeling that if I say something wrong at some point, they'll slam the door on our friendship, leaving me out on the front step wondering what the hell just happened. With girls I get even worse. My mind races ahead to the point where I think I might fuck something up, and automatically shuts down. I convince myself not to risk hitting on a girl just so I don't hit that wall of disappointment later on down the road.

Do you think the footless guy has that problem? Can we immediately look at him and say "Shit, this guy leads one sorry life. He can't even walk right. How can he live a normal life?" Well, maybe you should stop and ask him. Maybe he'd appreciate that someone took a second to talk with him about it. For all we know, this guy is a hero who lost both of his feet to frostbite after walking 10 miles through a blizzard dragging a sled full of orphans to safety. Or maybe he was just born without feet and learned to cope with it. We don't have to look very far to find the people in our lives that need a few reassuring words from a friend. It could make their day, and maybe help them get things straightened just a bit. If there's somebody to listen, most people are willing to talk, and just being able to express your fears and concerns out loud is sometimes enough to put things back in a positive light. A second opinion is always preferred to that one opinion that keeps rattling around inside your head, building on itself until you can't get around it.

Feet aren't as important as you'd think. But that's my opinion