60 Pairs of Socks and what this means
I don’t know about you but this lockdown period has been a time of deep reflection for me and led to big thoughts and decisions about what’s important and what’s not. It’s really made me think about a lot of life goals, material possessions, money, etc. I’ll revisit this theme over the next couple of weeks, but this week I’m talking about socks!
Why socks you ask? Yesterday I sorted my sock drawer. We’ve all reordered our sock drawer in the last few weeks right? Anyway, I pulled out every pair of socks from the drawer, neatly rolled them up and popped them back in. I had all sorts of socks, every colour, novelty ones, formal ones, trainer socks, tube socks, you name it they were in there, in toal, I had a staggering 60 pairs of socks.
I found myself just staring at the drawer, and then it hit me. Why do I need so many pairs of socks? If worn once a week, socks should last 1-2 years . Many of my socks are unworn, so I estimate I have at least a 10-year sock stock.
This led to my to a big epiphany:
I now have enough socks to last the rest of my days on this earth.
There were two key reflections from this:
1) The realisation of my own mortality
This took me aback for a while. In sock days I'm getting very close to retirement. And more importantly I’d now reached the age where everyday in a pair of socks is a bonus. Especially thinking specifically about the current risks we all face. Instead of this worrying me, it made me more thankful for each day, and even more determined to live my life as healthily as I can. From this week, selecting which socks, has started to become a thing for me.
Have you felt anything like this over the last few weeks? Have you had that realisation that life is an absolute gift? One we should treasure every single day? One in which we should give extra focus to our own wellbeing and health?
2) I have too many pairs of socks.
Are you realising this too? It might not be socks, the socks are just a metaphor for stuff in general. Do you have too much stuff? Have you spent your life to this point, amassing stuff, only to periodically throw some away, or give to charity. I used to feel good about the charity bag or the box of toys taken up to the childrens’ ward. Now I don’t, I feel sick at the thought of buying more stuff just to end up giving it away. I genuinely think that after all this, I won’t go back to throwaway consumerism.
I wonder if you feel the same?
Note to my kids, please don’t buy me any socks this Christmas!
Ian Hacon, Chief Energy Officer, Energise.me
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