Blue Plaid Pants
The other day I noticed a man in a coffee shop wearing what I thought was a very odd shirt. As I stared at the boldly-colored checkered pattern, except for collar and cuffs, which were paisley, I wondered what would possess someone to wear such a shirt, let alone buy one in the first place. But just before I turned away, I remembered another incident.
One day not long ago, in a park I noticed a woman wearing what I thought were ridiculous pants: large, brightly-colored flowers and leaves strewn about a bright white background. I wondered what would possess someone to wear such pants, let alone buy them. As the woman walked out of sight I sat on a bench and then gasped as my eyes drifted to my lap.
That morning I had ensconced my legs in a pair of blue plaid pants, one that I had owned at least since college, and one that was certainly no less erroneous a fashion statement than the other woman's floral pants. I wondered then if she had noticed me and whispered to her companion, Wow! Check out those pants! It's definitely possible. And if she hadn't said that, someone else who had seen how I dressed myself that day surely had.
Back in the coffee shop, I mentally saluted the man for his checkered-paisley shirt, realizing I had just been reminded of two of the great secrets to inner peace. First: Laugh at yourself. And second: Remember to do that before you laugh at someone else.