It’s the wearer, not the t-shirt.

“My Jägermeister t-shirt!”, shrieks my inner voice with all the hysteria of a star struck teenager.  That t-shirt was the jam. Just old enough to be slightly transparent, with tiny tears in all the right place. The cut almost tailored to my torso. The cloth hung from my shoulders almost as if it were poured over my body like hot wax. The perfect shirt. Let alone the content! “Jägermeister” and the classic 10 point buck logo looming above. Please. This thing was one word… classy.

A friend sent me one of those “back in the day” pics the other day and I was donning this fine garment in the pic, proudly so. Because… I was classy. This Jäger shirt was my go to for a good portion of my early 30s… class act. It was my “happy shirt”.

While I was drinking in this picture, a question leaped forth… where did that thing go? Where is this magical t’shirt of happiness? It’s disappeared into the annals of rock history. Shouldn’t I know it’s location seeing as though it was so important to me? Why am I not crying about this?

I’m not crumpled up in a quivering ball in the corner because it wasn’t the shirt that made me so happy. The shirt was just a symbol of the happiness that already existed inside me. This raggedy ass t-shirt just happened to be one of the objects that reminded me of this elation that I already possessed. I just happened to assign the shirt with the feeling and not the feeling with the shirt. We all do it. These shoes make me happy. This restaurant makes me happy. This car makes me happy. These diamonds make me happy. Everything outside of us is worthless until we assign it with meaning. Where does that meaning come from?  

INSIDE! The call is coming from inside the house! (Google if needed). These possessions and experiences may be a short cut for us to find our happy place but nonetheless the “happy places” live 100% inside of us, not outside. It’s the wearer not the t’shirt. Maybe it’s not the actual painting of the Mona Lisa that makes her so popular but, actually, the sense of awe that she creates inside the person that looks upon her. INSIDE is where it lives, we just need to be reminded sometimes.