01.23.2006

 

"Please, please, please, turn your socks right side out." 

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I can't tell you how many times I've pleaded with my nine-year-old son to do this simple task before throwing his clothes into the laundry pile. It's not that he's disobeying me on any given day; it's just not a major priority on the list of daily obligations and tasks of this young man. Just peel the socks off and throw them in the laundry pile. I should be thankful he's able to hit the laundry pile at all...

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It seems true that as long as there forever remains rites of passages for children, there will remain complementary rites of passages for parents as well. In this case, it is a life-long "rite of passage" for each of us, my friend; forever to be a "right-side-outer."

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What is a right-side-outer? Well, it's that person:

• that reminds others of what is most important in this Life when Life's pace becomes harried and hurried;

• that remembers that people will not always remember what you said, but how you made them feel;

• that remembers the true purpose of Life's journey;

• that places more emphasis on a person's character and less on their content;

• that turns difficult obstacles and detours into surprising opportunities;

• that subtlely reminds others that hurried quantity will never take the place of patient quality.

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We find ourselves in a world where as long as "it's shown on television, we're not caught, and no one gets hurt," it's accepted behavior. And yet, in a world where manners have been mostly forgotten, it's the right-side-outer who remembers to say, "Thank you, please and you're welcome." And in a world where sports have become a primarily spectator obsession, it's the right-side-outer who chooses to exercise their own body rather than sit and watch others do it. And in a world where love often times is shown as simply an expression we use when stating our likes toward particular foods, it's the right-side-outer that is the simple and consistent romantic with those in his/her life.

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The right-side-outer is not a freedom fighter, a saint, a diplomat or savior. He/She is simply concerned about turning Life's situations "right-side-out," the way they're supposed to be lived. To live Life in a courteous, healthy, romantic, visionary, patient and hopeful manner. It is this Life we are called to live, my friend. We could be satisfied that we're at least "hitting the laundry pile;" that societally we're not severely hurting each other... but it's not enough. We are called to turn Life's facade right-side-out and expect more from ourselves and from one another.

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To live Life in a courteous, healthy, romantic, visionary, patient and hopeful manner shouldn't be asking too much. But in the meantime, I plan to continue pleading and turning those socks right-side-out.