I Do Not Like Mondays

I’ve been saying this for a long time now, maybe years, half wondering what it means and if there’s possibly some wisdom in it. I wasn’t sure before, but now I’m convinced there’s something to it.

“The easiest way to carry a coat is to wear it.” I would say this randomly, often in response to a disjointed situation where it’s awkward to find the right words to use. The easiest way to carry a coat is to wear it.

I think the significance in this saying of mine is that the simplest route to take may often be the best one. We tend to get wound up in complexities and pile on difficulty after difficulty in what we’re trying to do, getting tangled up in web after web. Just go ahead and wear the coat, put it on! That’s the easiest way to carry it, and then your arms are free to carry something else, realistically and, perhaps more to the point, metaphorically. 

An important addendum to this saying is the simplest route may not always be the most comfortable one to take. For instance, literally speaking, what if it’s warm outside? Then it’s more of a challenge to carry a coat by wearing it, right, even though it’s still the simplest way to go?

One example of how this saying might apply is if a person has a disease or condition that carries with it some complexities. The easiest way to carry a coat is to wear it! Thus the most straightforward thing to do would be to recognize the condition and “wear” it without reservation, in a sort of freeing way. But it could be that’s not the most comfortable thing to do.

What if you had to tell a loved one something difficult — something you thought might hurt his or her feelings? Well, the easiest way to carry a coat is to wear it; maybe cutting straight to the punchline is the best way to go. Yet again, it certainly may not be the most comfortable thing to do.

In both those situations, however, it might give you something to reflect on and consider, and that alone could help you find the right path.

Those are just a few hypotheticals. Remember this line and conjure it up to yourself the next time you feel stuck trying to figure out what to do in some situation… “the easiest way to carry a coat is to wear it.” See if it doesn’t shed some light on the situation for you, and maybe even lend a little wisdom in the moment.

Content © Aaron G. Marsh