On going out of the house looking like that

How much energy, money, and time do I spend on looking good?

How about you?

Your daily routine is likely similar to mine: Shower, shave, brush teeth, style hair, moisturize, and pick out clothes (sometimes trying on several outfits).

That’s just the morning routine.

How many times during the day do you look in the mirror? And when you can’t look in the mirror, how many times do you wonder what you would see if you could?

What about browsing or shopping for clothes? We used to have to go to the mall. Now we can shop at our desks. I admit that I do. What about you?

It’s not just our bodies either. How much energy, money, and time do we spend making our cars and homes look good? How much energy and time do we spend making our online selves look good?

Humility is virtue. Insecurity is not.

In fact, I’m convicted more and more that my insecurity is selfish. Vain.

It’s fodder for advertising (which empties my wallet) and food for my compulsions (which empty my soul).

The more energy, money, and time I spend on looking good the less energy, money, and time I have to do good.

Besides, the good that comes from an insecure heart will be anemic at best and manipulative at worst.

Beware the person who believes his insecurity is humility or vulnerability: He will eat you alive or vomit all over you.

I know. I’ve been that person.

A few months ago, I started doing something a little weird. When getting ready for the day, if I noticed something askew–like one sideburn a little longer than the other–I would go out of the house without fixing it. If I wasn’t happy with my hair, I’d go to work anyway. I shaved off my beard even though I have a jawline by Pillsbury.

What’s the point?

Practicing faith. Practicing real humility. How?

Intentionally forgetting myself and my shortcomings. Putting aside the little things that I allow to get in the way of relating to people (they don’t care about my sideburns and they’re not looking anyway). Focusing a lot less on gratifying me and a lot more on the people and the places around me.

This is also a practice of real confidence and security. What are we afraid of? Being left alone and rejected because our shoes aren’t sexy?

Going out as we are rather than as we want to project ourselves may be the first step toward discovering and receiving real acceptance and love.

You may be afraid (like me) to discover how deep the infection of vanity goes when you find yourself fighting and fleeing love that is for the true you.

We’re more afraid to be loved for who we truly are than to be rejected for who we try to be.

What to do?

Real spirituality is practical spirituality. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the things in life that make me most self-conscious. If they make me self-conscious, could they be symptoms of the malady that needs healing?

What if I drove my old station wagon another two years instead of trading it in for a new sedan? What if I wore the old hand-me-down shirts instead of buying new ones? What if I let my lawn get a few dandelions?

What if I practice letting go of the things that make me self-conscious so that I can learn to enjoy real life and to receive real love?

What if I practice letting go of my insecurities so that I have more energy, money, and time to give and to share?

What if I practice a life that is true rather than a life that looks like a catalog?

Yes, I think I will go out of the house looking like that. Will you join me?