Stop. Breathe in. Exhale.
Now, I want you to think about something for a second. I want you to think about a piece of clothing in your closet that, to you, is your comfort. I mean, that one piece of clothing that, as you look at it you think, “Man, I love wearing that thing!” and you put it on and you sit around the house and don’t give a crap what anybody thinks about it or how it looks.
Do you have it in your mind? That old ratty t-shirt? That beat up pair of jeans? That soft sweater?
Okay. Good. Imagine it for a second. Now, why is it your “comfort”?
I’m willing to bet that it’s not because of the way it fits (or doesn’t fit) on you. It’s probably not because of the way the cloth feels on you. I’ll take a bet it’s because of the way it makes you feel. It may be a shirt from an old lover and, if for even a moment, you swear you can smell them on it again. Or maybe it’s a pair of shorts that have survived ten summers, and you can’t help but smile every time you think of all the debauchery and mayhem that occurred while you were wearing them. Maybe it’s an old t-shirt that you wore when you climbed your first mountain, or lost your virginity.
Whatever it is, I doubt it has anything to do with the actual clothing.
As I was glancing around my closet, I came across my trust old Floater hoody sweater. Comfort. Pure comfort. And I realized that I’ve had this old sweater for almost ten years now. Ten years. It has quite literally gone with me everywhere. Almost every Floater show (I’ve been to 225 total, now), has been in this Floater sweater (at least, during the colder months).
I spent six months homeless, and this sweater was one of the few articles that survived. It has been to a hundred parties. It has been through countless bars. It has traveled along with me on countless business trips all over the country. It has been with me when I was running from the police as a teenager. It was there the first time I jumped a barbwire fence. It was there in my friend’s car after I streaked through a mall. It literally has almost as many miles on it, as I do. And that’s a lot.
It’s old and it’s ratty, but I love the million and a half memories that race across my mind every time I put it on. I love this sweater, and will be sad the day I can no longer wear it. I doubt I’ll get rid of it, though. If you will, share with me your “comfort” clothing, and explain why you feel that way about it.