The Contemplative Practice of Polishing Shoes

When I was a kid, in my tweens and teens, I would trot down to the basement every once in a while and dig around in our shoe shelf. I'd pull out a magical box that was filled with glass jars of shoe cream and tins of shoe polish, shoe brushes and old flannel rags. I'd plop the box on the old wooden workbench and then go find some shoes that needed polishing. I was pretty open... my shoes, my dad's shoes, my mom's shoes... any leather shoes that looked like they needed some spit and polish.

Then I'd happily sit there for an hour and methodically polish shoes. First I'd give the shoes a good brush to remove any loose dirt. Then I'd select a cloth, dap it into the appropriate shoe polish or shoe cream and rub it all over the shoe. I'd work the polish into the leather and then pull out the shoe brush and give the shoe a nice polishing. It was kind of neat to be able to watch the shoe transform from dull to shiny.

Why did I enjoy polishing shoes so much? Well... it's not something I was forced to do... I don't think. Although maybe at some point it was originally on my list of chores. But I really enjoyed the hands on experience of making a difference, of watching something transform underneath my hands. Going from dirty and dull to clean and polished. There was a real sense of satisfaction, of a job well-done.

Nowadays, things are different. I can't remember the last time I polished my shoes. Today, we have "Express Shine", little foamie things that we brush over our shoes that immediately give the dull leather a new lease on life. It's quick. It's easy. But the satisfaction factor isn't quite the same.