I’m the oldest child in my family and the oldest of my 9 cousins, so I never wore hand-me-down clothes.
I’ve definitely worn some hand-me-down thoughts, though.
I carried around hand-me-down opinions and preferences for decades.
I’ve adopted boatloads of hand-me-down worries, and lots of hand-me-down identities.
Many of them felt familiar, like they fit. Like they had been with me from the beginning.
Others felt tight and restrictive. I knew they didn’t really fit, but there was a pull to make them fit, as if they should fit and it was my fault that they didn’t.
The hand-me-downs that don’t fit are giving you a massive clue. They’re showing you that any belief, opinion, preference or identity–hand-me-down or not–is not original. It’s not part of the default settings. It was downloaded and added later, and only passed off as original.
The tight fit is the tip off. It’s a reminder that you don’t have fit yourself into anything.. Shed what’s uncomfortable. Rip it off and run naked.
You were never meant to squeeze into anything. You simply can’t be contained.
(We don’t really make Miller wear his sister’s hand-me-downs, but it makes for a good picture, doesn’t it?)
