Shoes Boxes

The shoe boxes really stacked up when I started to be successful. When I could afford to spend money on things other than rent and a car payment, I went nuts with shopping for shoes. I love shoes! I love trying them on, and I love the way they make me feel.

Collecting Shoe Boxes

Let’s face it, there are different types of shoes, and of course, you need a pair for every occasion. There are dancing shoes, and there are shoes that will kill your feet if you even try to dance. I can barely walk in half of the shoes I own, and at the end of the night, I ask myself, “Why do I torture myself?” My bunions hurt, and I can barely walk.

Shoes can be very expensive! Buying them is an expensive habit, and it gets a bit depressing when the thing you are obsessed with hurts your feet! It is quite the metaphor for everything we do!

I will keep wearing superexpensive shoes that hurt my feet and cause misery. This is after I spend hours trying them on, and at the store, they seemed to feel just fine because I was in love with them at first sight, and of course, I had to have them.

Invest In Shoes

No wonder Zappos nailed it with their 100 percent paid return shoe policy. Women went nuts ordering shoes, and guess what? When they received the shoes, they kept them—all of them—because “someday they will fit!”

That is one company in which I wish I was an original investor—with the smartest business model and the best customer service ever.

I have a lot of shoes, and they sit in pretty boxes. I wear them sometimes—actually, less and less these days—but I cannot part with some of them as they are collector’s items, and it would break my heart to let them go!

Does any of this ring true in any areas of your life?

The Emotions Behind Shoe Boxes

Shoe boxes are a metaphor for me in many ways. I used shoes early on as an exterior fix, something that would make me feel better on the outside while my insides were still feeling sad. It is like the line from the film In Her Shoes, when Rose Feller  buys new shoes as a way to feel better.

I can relate to that line because I have a closet full of shoe boxes, and each box has some memory of how I was feeling at that time, where I was in my life, what event I wore the shoes to, and what dress or outfit the shoes would pair perfectly with. And so I have a lot of shoe boxes.

Shoes also represent for me something to obsess over to try to fill a hole in myself only to feel worse. I know I am not the only one who has had buyer’s remorse after buying shoes, and it is really hard to take shoes back, especially after they have been worn. It is usually after the first time I wear them that I ask myself, “What was I thinking? Why would I buy such uncomfortable shoes?”

Now I pause before buying anything, and these days, I am just not into shoes like I was ten years ago. I am aware that everything I need is within me, and shoes will not make anything better.

Remove Your Shoes

I have a mat outside my front door that reads Please Remove Your Shoes. Funny, right? Please remove your shoes. How ironic! But there is really something healing about no shoes in the house. Yes, it keeps the floor and carpet clean, but it is also grounding to be barefoot and feel the earth. We walk around my home barefoot or in socks.

I like the habit of taking shoes off. I learned that custom when I lived in Japan in 1983. I was introduced to it everywhere in Japan as it is a custom to remove one’s shoes. It is a respected tradition.

My obsession with shoes has changed quite a bit. I am trading the stilettos for an obsession with sneakers and comfortable workout shoes. My back and hips will thank me!