Walking in My Shoes: Matthew Garrett

It’s funny how shoes have found their way into our rhetoric of daily life.  I was on the train this morning and noticed what I usually do... many lowered heads. Common place on the commute that it is. Avoiding eye-contact with others by imaginary texting, game playing or app fiddling could almost be a public transport sport. However, today I joined them and dipped my head low.

Apart from the sticky floor which warranted notice for a moment or two if only to find out what had caused the tacky joy, my eyes quickly wandered to other things. Namely, shoes. This may not seem like a new piece of information I’m giving you here, but seriously, so many different types of shoes. Hard pressed to make a “match” and highlight this to strangers who could then feel uncomfortable that they were wearing the same thing in such an enclosed space I found my thoughts going to that old saying “walk a mile in my shoes”.

It was hard not to. There was the new shine of an oxford on the kid who forgot today was the first day of school holidays, the 50ish guy in the bespoke suit  who has decided laces aren’t for him and his” new look”, the espadrilles of the teen boys who hadn’t forgotten it was now time for holidays and were Bondi bound, and finally the forty-something hardest working bloke in the office who’s a modest family man and doesn’t care that his brogues are well worn out, as long as his kids shoes aren’t.

Not to be deep or making to severely with the metaphor. But if clothes make the man, shoes tell us his journey. Or, at the very least where his story is leading.

 Of course the comparison to walking is easy (has something to do with shoes being worn on feet I think). It would be absurd to make a link with footwear and flying. Besides, pigs already have that job booked.  However the iconic saying of “walk a mile in my shoes” is pretty much the be all and end all of phrases when it comes to the comparative.

We tend to use this saying in times of hardship. Especially to articulate we wouldn’t want to go through the particularly challenging experiences of another. However, of all those shoes I saw today. I will take the brogues of the hard working guy. The only other guy I saw looking about on the train. And, the only person on the train who caught me and offered up a smile and a nod to the stranger who had just looked him up and down after assessing his shoes.

The kid will wear those oxfords in well when school actually starts up again, the 50ish guy will show off his “new look” around and boast how great having no laces is, the boys will be boys and most likely use an espadrille as a form of Frisbee, and the modest man will probably be the guy sending his kids back to school (on the right day) with the new oxfords on their feet before he trades up.

If we can be measured on our journey by the shoes on our feet, no matter the rises and falls, the wear and the tear, give me the ones worn out for those are the ones that have no doubt been worn well.

Just give me five minutes to sit and shine them here and there.

-Matthew Garrett

Image courtesy of http://lookbook.nu/bobbyraffin