I have tied a double knot in my shoe laces since I first learned to tie my own shoes. It is something I haven’t thought about a lot over the years. I just do it. Along the way I learned to tie many other types of knots, and I have worn boots, tennis shoes, sandals, and many other types of footwear. I’ve still just always tied a double knot. There has been no change in tne 45+ years of lacing up my shoes. Now, 50 years in, I have just simply started tying just a simple bow. No double knot. No special types of knot. I just lace them up, tie a bow, and go on with my day.
When I was married to my first wife she used to make fun of me regularly about tying my shoe with a double knot. I have now learned she was just sad and mean. Back then I still regularly wore boots and I worked manual labor across my houses and properties, so I didn’t let it bother me when she made jokes about me tying a double know with dress or athletic shoes. I just kept tying my shoes like I always have, even when I stopped wearing boots and doing manual labor. Another side effect that grew out of this practice that I never quite grew out of, was that when I wore regular shoes I would just kick them off instead of untying them, something that would eventually wear down the heels—-but it was something that didn’t matter until I got older.
I recently had a 4 week long painful achilles heel episode which I realized was due to me wearing an old pair of tennis shoes longer than I should have, and that the heel was worn out from me not untying my shoes and just kicking them off. I’ve since stopped tying my shoes in a double knot and stopped kicking them off, opting to untie and put them away. This has all been a sign for me that I needed to change my behavior. My earlier programming was having a real impact on my reality today. My young male programming and stubbornness was manifesting itself in ways that caused me real pain today, and I needed to change. I need to relearn tying my shoes, and not worry if they come untied as I make my way through the world.
Unwinding what I was taught earlier in life has become a regular chore for me. I find these little things are what seem to matter the most. It is alright if my shoes come untied while walking down the street. I can stop and tie them. I can also tie my shoes tight enough that this doesn’t happen too often. I am getting good at unwinding things I was taught as a young child. I am on the hunt for other simple things that I can change in my life that will have a real impact on my quality of life, and unburden me with habits formed during some of the more clueless years of my life.
