A Comfy Sweater Makes Everything Better
We have made it to fall! Or have we? The weather from my part of the world seems rather springish with hints of autumn thrown in there. Sort of like flavoring coffee with your favorite ingredient; my is cinnamon. Give it a try, you will be glad you did!
Anyways, back to the sweater metaphor you all have been waiting to hear about. Indeed it has to be big, usually bigger than your body, upper body. (Hint: We are not trying to be on the cover of Calvin Klein!). But if you want it to be a full body experience like the woman in the photo then go all in. Life is either all in or all out, make your decision on where you want your life to take you.
Let’s focus on the texture of this sweater. Personally, I am a cotton guy; the feel of cotton against your skin is if you are being touched by the glowing warmth from an angel ready to take you off to your forever place. (Where it will be? Not sure, but good luck to you to find your paradise in the sky!). You see, this feeling is such as sitting around a fire place. With a group of loved ones. Drinking your favorite hot beverage. (My choice is personally hot cocoa with milk…ONLY! I can get down with using hot water and tea, but cocoa powder? If you like it, good on you! I will be all over the milk.). Playing a game, think of any game you can have a laugh with loved ones and not even noticing the time passing by. Perhaps, Cards Against Humanity came to mind or Codenames if you up to strategize with others. This is how a warm cotton sweater feels to me, all of these feelings, experiences, and emotions.
Why the synonym you ask? Quite studious question of you to ask. All of our brains think, act, and work differently; just as the way we rely information and thought out to the world. Painters paint. Singers sing. Drawers draw. Writers write. Sweaters sweat…this did not go quite as expected but I believe you may get the point. If not, do not worry the tale does not end here. It is only beginning actually. Just when you thought this was not going to be a story, it elapses into one.
Back about a week ago…(Thank you Drake for the opener here, I am not sure what any of us would do without your sense of words.)
The night was chilly. Cars were frosted up from the temperature declining well below freezing. If you were to even think about heading outside, you would feel like jack frost himself was touching you with his cold hard hards. (Just for safety concerns, Jack knows to be at a reasonable distance away from others). But this did not stop the man from going out into his car to warm it, he had to go to work today. This man works at home if you were wondering and why he was warming up his car if he was not going anyway. He had a side business of printing graphic designs on cotton sweaters and on this day he went out to deliver to locals in his area.
He knew each of them by name Jim, Pam, Stanley, Meredith, Michael, Oscar…wait is he giving these sweaters out to the Office or actually people? Just to burst your bubble, these are the name of his actual cliental. (Jokes on you it seems).
Each of these individuals, no people held an important place in his day and heart. He worked with each of them in an office at a paper company called…wait so this really is not about the Office you still say? I’ll ask you something in return, is anything possible? The answer is yes. So, let’s keep this story moving then.
All of their comfortable sweaters had something personal on them: cats, beets, pretzels, Cornell, a famous painting, a bowl of chili…I believe you get the point here, each of them have likes and Jack was doing his best to make them feel comfortable with themselves. Even though he was making a small profit from these encounters, it was the act of creating something special for people who he had bonded with. Sweaters are like people they are woven together with love and imagination.
All of them reacted with delight and appreciation for the time Jack took to personalize their sweater. Each of them thanked them in their own way: a pat on the back from Jim, a high five from Michael, a long kiss from Meredith, a chest bump from Andy, a nod with a smile from Stanley, tears from Angela, a big hug from Phyllis and a big hug from Dwight just to name a few.
Jack felt accomplished. Felt complete. Felt comforted like a comfy sweater around his body. Next time you are feeling down or alone, put on a comfy sweater to bring a sense of worth from within and feel it without.
Stay well friends and the Office fans. :)
