We live in a time when people increasingly accept things that clearly don’t fit reality. Influencers say things they don’t believe. People defend ideas that contradict who they are and what they know to be good and just. Caught up in the swirling voices of a million social media posts or one disappointed look from a loved one, we stay silent when something is obviously wrong.

 

By Kellie Schorr

Like many during this time, I have had to learn how to balance my political awareness of the world with my need for mental health, comfort, and gratitude.

I’ve gotten pretty good at both knowing and doing, however right now, I have lost that balance.

I am absolutely obsessed with the picture of Marco Rubio’s oversized shoes.

Getty Images

A grown man with power, able to afford the very best footwear, in public view, wearing shoes that absolutely do not fit.  It’s tragic, uncomfortable, and emblematic about our current political reality. In writing we are led by the maxim, “Show, not tell.” Rubio standing there in those shoes is the best picture we will see about these times.

Why Would He Wear These?

As reported, Donald Trump loves Florsheim leather shoes and “gifted” (we will explore that word more in a moment) his male staff with them. In true narcissistic fashion, instead of inquiring what size or style the men on his staff would like, he just “guessed” and bought them, with the clear expectation they would be worn.

That’s not how gifts work. That’s not how jobs work. That’s not how any of this works!

The choice of a gift is up to the giver, but they normally attempt to give something that fits. What happens to the gift after it is given is up to the receiver. No one demands you wear their gift. In real life, on the off chance someone gives you something that doesn’t fit, you either exchange the gift for the right size, or say thank you, stuff it in the closet, and never speak of it again.  In Trump World, you just ram your little feet into oversized shoes and hope no one but the boss notices.

Why Rubio is struggling to wear these shoes is anyone’s guess, but the most likely reason is one of the following:

Fear – Afraid Trump would be unhappy or call him out for not wearing the Florsheim shoes and not wanting to lose face among the gaggle of staff all begging for Trump’s approval, Rubio slipped his feet into the cavernous footwear and hoped for the best.

Ambition – He’s already Secretary of State, but how much higher in office could Marco Rubio climb if he had the dear leader’s little gold star on his folder? In this administration, obedience is influence and he wanted more of it.

Belonging – The male staff who got the shoes are part of a little club, those given the Florsheim of Approval, and the shoe transitions from being footwear to being a status symbol of approval. I imagine them all sitting around the table, feet freely floating around the wide pool of space, feeling the warmth on inclusion.

Whatever the reason, it’s not just a shoe, it’s survival.

Sign of the Times

The Buddha spent a lot of time talking about exactly this. Why do we suffer? Because we cling to things that do not last or are not real. In order to keep that clinging we often invent identities or roles to survive the systems around us.  Eventually we wear those roles so much of the time they become costumes we forget we are wearing. Sometimes those costumes are literally too big.

In one moment, often one we don’t see coming, there it is:

The polished shoes.
The visible gap.
The awkward silence as people pretend to look the other way.

How many times in our own lives do we have that feeling? We are expected to be brilliant at something we really don’t do very well, or we take on the persona of the calm, collected hero, when we are truthfully terrified humans praying something can save us.

What these shoes reveal on the outside, the truth becomes anxiety on the inside.

We live in a time when people increasingly accept things that clearly don’t fit reality. Influencers say things they don’t believe. People defend ideas that contradict who they are and what they know to be good and just. Caught up in the swirling voices of a million social media posts or one disappointed look from a loved one, we stay silent when something is obviously wrong.

When this happens, whether it’s a political decision, spiritual moment, or a personal choice, we need to realize we are not being compassionate, gracious or open minded. We do it because the cost of saying, “These are not my shoes” feels too high.

We suffer because we cling to power rooted in fear culture. We suffer because we have elevated loyalty above honesty. We suffer because we lose sight of—or never get to be—our authentic self.

How many people end up in unwanted relationships because we are afraid to wait, to speak, or to change? How many people go to work every day to a job they absolutely hate because they were afraid to lose what they had by reaching for something better? How often do we know the wise thing, and but do the popular thing?

Bare Feet Are Better

The Third Noble Truth of the Buddha tells us clearly, “There is a way to stop suffering.”

The path out of this manufactured reality that doesn’t suit us or truly serve the people we are about is to know at any place, at any time, you can return to what is true and grounded.

Three simple practices to make that change:

1. Awareness – Notice when something doesn’t feel true to who you are.

2.Couragious Resistance – Resist the pressure to perform a role, say the words, or take an action that is not you and does not represent your heart and mind.

3. Speak The Truth – With the utmost respect for fierce compassion, let your reality be known.

In times like these the most radical and important thing you can do is stand up and say, “These shoes are not my size.”

Awakening doesn’t begin with a grand gesture, or hours on a meditation cushion or climbing the highest of high mountains.  It begins with a small moment of honesty. It takes shape in our lives and our world the moment we take off the shoes that were never ours to wear.

 

Photo: Pixabay

Article photo: Getty Images

 

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Politics and Prayer Beads: Finding the Path in Portland and Beyond

The Silent War We Wage With Words—and the Woman Who Refused to Fight It

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