When I was growing up, I dislocated my knee-cap a few times. It is a relatively minor injury, but it is traumatizing as hell, and downright grotesque looking. I had surgery to correct it, but never really got over the fear of it happening again. Consequently, I have an odd way of moving around. I seldom bend my knees, hinge only at the waist, and I cock my hips to the side when I go down stairs.

Going down stairs is always uncomfortable. Each stair provides me with an opportunity to strengthen my legs and re-adjust my approach. With every step I have a chance to become stronger and more efficient with my movement. Every day is a few more flights of stairs with which I can better hone my skills at descending staircases.

Do you know how I improve my ability to go down stairs every day?

I don’t.

I don’t do anything different.

I am aware that what I am doing is incorrect, funny-looking, painful to watch, and even harmful, but I have become familiar with my style. IĀ convince myself with each step that it is either not worth changing, or that I will start correcting the problem the next opportunity I get.

Why is this important?

I’m not sure that it is.

However, I don’t think that I am alone in my way of thinking. I believe that there are many people who are plenty aware of their faults and imperfect actions, who consciously make a choice to remain imperfect, funny-looking, painful to watch, or even harmful. It is my opinion that the people who bother us most have knowledge that they are doing the obnoxious or harmful actions, but they have either accepted them for what they are or convince themselves that it is not worth changing.

As I was recently gossiping to a friend of mine about a person doing something which I found annoying, I said,

“They really need to stop. It’s a problem.”

My friend, Chris, responded with,

“For them or for you?”

Point taken.

People act different ways for all kinds of different reasons. I can’t expect people to act differently because I want them to, any more than you can expect me to bend my knees on the way down stairs.

It’s just the way it’s gonna be.

Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,

Beefcake