Happy Feet
Industrial revolution has changed our lives in more ways than one. There is an instant gratification in producing something with little effort and being fully rewarded anyway and as a result a true craft has lost big part of its value. I once met a cordwainer or a true shoe maker for those like me who had to find the word in a dictionary. He was passionate about his craft and put all his effort and time into perfect delivery of a product he took pride in. Regretfully, the art of shoe making is out of fashion these days and even the word is hardly used while most manufacturing has become automated. Machines can produce a pair of shoes much quicker and cost effective way, so cordwainers have become cobblers and the first trade is now on an imaginary ‘endangered’ list.
I always wanted to own a pair of handmade shoes, somehow I feel I would appreciate them more, perhaps because so much love and passion has been put into them. I believe they would be super comfortable and possibly even last longer. I bet they would look just perfect on me, leather would be soft and in colour of my choosing, exactly the way I like. Yet, to come across a true bootmaker these days, where do I find one since the market for handmade shoes is lost? Have they all been put out of business? Surely there are more people who would appreciate a graft of a Cordwainer. How much does a pair cost, hardly a bargain I guess in comparison to mass produced impersonal factory pieces. These days everybody is looking for a deal, not realising that they may have to pay later and by other means.
Average person takes about 200 million steps in their lifetime. That is a lot of steps, especially if you are wearing bad pair of shoes. Or maybe not even bad - just the perfect pair that makes your feet look deliciously tiny. You know the ones in which you’d rather not walk over 20 steps at the time. Vanity is so important to us - we rather feel better about ourselves, than be comfortable. What do some of these super high heels do to our postures and ligaments - scary thought! Our feet were not meant to be pushed into these shapes, yet we happily do it in a name of a perfect image.
Imagine the fashions of the past - women of high class in China had their feet bound as kids to stunt the normal growth and deform the joints, so feet would appear tiny for the rest of their lives. Small lotus feet guaranteed higher status and better marriage prospects, possibly even step up in society. Foot binding in China is long outlawed but in a sense we still do it every day by taking decisions based on how we look and how much money we have on bank accounts. Do you ever wonder about things we do and why we do it? We damage our health in a name of looking good to others, we ‘break our bones’ to fit into situations we have no business in being. And then, in old age we spend money as a result to try to manage the damage done.
Anyway, back to the poor shoemaker, who despite his passion for the trade, is out of business and settling for something else to make the ends meet. But what is life all about if you lose your passion and have to go for second best!?! Isn’t happiness in life the ultimate goal. Is it possible to do a job you don’t love and be still passionate about it? Or is it just like choosing to wear bad pair of shoes, willingly accepting the pain while your feet adjusting to fit a form. Imagine the world where everybody was doing what they were born to do, what they truly loved and were passionate about. Work doesn’t feel like work when you do what you love - shouldn’t this be everybody’s desired outcome - earning money for what you love doing, being appreciated and respected for your skill. Isn’t it just like wearing shoes that are made just for you. Every step is as if you were walking in clouds. How happy would people be feeling - like being on top of the world every day.
In old China, the unbound feet were called ‘clown feet’. So, what if I am being a clown - clowns are funny! Funny makes people laugh, people who laugh are happy. Happy people are healthier and live longer lives. And all that is required is one really good pair of shoes, fit for your feet. Now, how is that as a secret for long and happy life!?!