Greetings for 2014!
I have a dear friend who over the years has given me many generous gifts on different occasions. This one time, about three years ago, she gave me a really lovely beige and black Marc Jacobs scarf. Cashmere/silk blend, it was the kind of scarf that went with everything and seemed to transcend even the seasons. Perfect to keep warm in winter but light enough to use in summer on cooler nights, I fell in love with it and wore it all the time. And I mean ALL the time. It got to the point that I would leave it in the car when I would go to see her as I was embarrassed she would see me in it and think I had absolutely no other scarf to wear! And of course I had others but there was something about this scarf that I just loved. I was like a kid with her favourite blanket. I had lost and found this scarf several times, as you do, but finally a few months ago, in my newborn baby haze of juggling two under two, I left it in a baby changing room never to see it again.
When I told my husband I had lost my scarf he looked at me and laughed saying "Well it's not like you didn't wear the hell out of it. Don't worry, you did it justice darling!". I smiled sheepishly as it hadn't dawned on me that he too noticed my excessive use of said scarf. But what did dawn on me was how at no point did I feel even a moment of loss. There was no regret for losing it, no sense of longing for something I had loved, used on almost a daily basis and was clearly fond of. I realised the reason for this was that I had indeed "done it justice", I had indeed worn the hell out of it. So when the day came when it was to be no more, it was with a feeling of complete detachment and even joy with which I was able to let it go, knowing I had fully appreciated it when it was mine. It occurred to me that this is how I want to live my life. I want to "wear the hell out of it" so to speak. I want to do this life justice, engage in every moment, live in gratitude, appreciate the people I love and the things I have so when it comes time, when it is meant to be no more, there isn't a feeling of loss nor a need to hang on. No regrets or should have dones. Just this feeling that I lived it well and did my life, this precious life, justice.
So starting with this year, this is my new mantra, "do this life justice". I fully plan on wearing the hell out of it beginning with 2014. Here's hoping you will join me!