Matt Heath: My parting message: Enjoy things while they are around

A lot of big, tragic and important things have happened to this wonderful country of ours since April 2014. None of which I have covered. I was too busy writing about hungover parenting, ancient philosophy and my dog Colin.

Out of the 536 columns I have written, 27 were about that guy. Far too few. He is such a good boy, he deserves an article a week.

Today is the end of an era for me, and whenever these final events pop up in our lives, we can’t help but think about the ultimate end.

Everything we do, we will one day do for the last time. That’s why you have to enjoy things while they are around. It’s not just big events like leaving a job, house or loved one either. Whatever moment you happen to be in now, you will never get it back, and you don’t know how many more you have.

Everything we do in life, from eating pizza to spending time with the people we love, to driving, writing, drinking or breathing, we will one day experience for the final time. It might happen tomorrow. This can be either a depressing or an inspiring thought, depending on how you look at it.

A few years back in this column, I interviewed professor of philosophy William B Irvine, of Wright State University, Ohio, on this very topic. He put it this way on a Zoom call: “Recognition of the impermanence of everything in life can invest the things we do with a significance and intensity that would otherwise be absent. The only way we can be truly alive is if we make it our business periodically to entertain thoughts of the end.”

Today’s column is very meaningful to me because it is my last. Like the last night with a lover before she goes overseas. And just like a lover, there have been some half-arsed efforts put in from me over the years. Last week, for example, I spent 750 words moaning about how bad my cricket team is. But the truth is that any of my columns could have been the final. If I had reminded myself every week for the past 10 years that the end is inevitable, I may have been more grateful for having a column and appreciated writing them all as much as I am this one.

While everything we do could have more meaning with a focus on finitude, some things are inherently more worthwhile than others. There is no doubt my column “The pros and cons of wearing Speedos” from November 2022 was less meaningful than most things in this world. That was a waste of everyone’s time. So, if we only have so much time, how do we pick the best things to do?

Well, Oliver Burkeman, the author of Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management For Mortals, suggested this to me in a 2022 column: “Ask yourself, does this choice enlarge me? You usually know on some unspoken level if it does. That’s a good way to distinguish between options.”

With that in mind, I don’t feel great about my 2018 article on “New Zealand’s best hole”. That didn’t enlarge anyone.

There will be people reading this column right now who have loved my writing in the Herald and are sad to see it end. Others will have hated it and are glad to see me go. Many won’t have any opinion at all. But for those in the first camp, I have good news. I have a book coming out on May 28 called A Life Less Punishing – 13 Ways To Love The Life You Got (Allen and Unwin Book Publishers). It’s a deep dive into the history, philosophy and science of not wasting our time lost in anger, loneliness, humiliation, stress, fear, boredom and all the other ways we find to not enjoy perfectly good lives. It’s available for pre-order right now (google it if you’re interested).

A Life Less Punishing took me two years to write and is equivalent in words to 100 of these columns. Which would be a complete nightmare for those in the hate camp, but as I say, great news for those who want more.

Anyway, thanks to the Herald for having me, thanks to the lovely people who make an effort to say nice things to me about my column nearly every day and thanks to the universe for every single second we get.

Bless!

Why Michael Jackson Wore Smaller Clothes at the End of His Shows (and 8 More Revelations About His Costumes)

Michael Jackson was a picky dresser, and he wanted to stand out. That’s why his costumes had a lot of details that made everyone wonder why they were there and what they meant. For example, almost every jacket Michael Jackson wore had an armband on the right sleeve, and some of his jackets also had “777” sewn onto them.

We at Bright Side are fascinated with Michael Jackson`s wardrobe, and we`re ready to reveal some of the secrets behind his costumes!

1. Why he wore smaller costumes at the end of his shows

Michael Jackson`s dance routines were very physically strenuous, and he gave his all during his performances. By the end of the show, he would often lose up to 5 lbs, and his waist would become one inch thinner. And since it was important that his clothes fit perfectly, so that he could show off his dance moves, every next costume was a bit smaller than the previous one.

2. How his lean shoes worked

Michael Jackson`s shoes that helped him defy the laws of gravity had a V-shaped clasp at the bottom of the heels. With its help, he could hook into a nail attached to the floor and perform his famous 45-degree forward tilt. However, to be able to do that and to keep his whole body straight, an incredible amount of core and leg strength was also needed.

3. Why he only wore one glove

Michael had vitiligo, a skin condition where patches of your skin lose pigment. It started on his hand and he wanted to cover it up. And he thought it would look too ordinary to wear 2 gloves, so he would only wear one.

4. Why almost every jacket had an armband on the right sleeve

Michel Jackson just wanted his clothes to be different from everyone else’s. And having an armband on a sleeve makes your look distinguishable. Michael also liked to make his fans wonder why that armband was there.

5. Why there are 3 № 7s sewn onto his jackets

Michael was the 7th child in his family. Also, he was born in 1958, and if you add 19 plus 58, it equals 77.

6. Why he never polished his shoes

https://embed.gettyimages.com/embed/102387174?et=DZf33kESR_FzttBPFw4bsA&tld=com&sig=CgmVXF3-ayUaSk89vbYyKxd70AKUSL46PYdz8crrJBI=&caption=true&ver=1

Once, the singer`s managers were concerned about the condition of his shoes and asked his costume designer to polish them. He did it, but it made Michael extremely angry. He explained that the leather was worn off exactly as he needed it to be, and that polishing would make it too slippery for him to perform his dance moves.

7. Why he wore white socks

Michael loved wearing white socks for several reasons. No one else wore white socks with black shoes. Moreover, they would catch the light and attract attention to the movements of his feet when he was dancing.

8. Why he taped his fingers

Hand movements were an important part of Michael Jackson`s dance routines. So he and his costume designers decided to wrap white tape around his fingers in order to attract more light. Michael also decided it would be more unusual to only tape his index, ring, and pinkie fingers. It was also fun for him, because fans would ask why only 3 of his fingers were taped.

When Michael danced, he would unconsciously put his 2 untaped fingers together. And that would also add mysteriousness to his performances, since the fans would think this sign had a secret meaning.

9. What the letters CTE on his jackets stand for

These letters don`t stand for anything. In the 90s, Michael`s costume designers created a few new shirts for him. He liked them, but he wanted to add some letters on the epaulets. He said it didn`t matter which ones, so his costume designers put all of the letters of the alphabet into a hat, and took 3 of them out at random. That`s where the letters “CTE” came from.

Do you think Michael Jackson had great taste in clothes? Is there any costume of his that you like in particular? We`d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Preview photo credit Smooth Criminal / Quincy Jones Productions

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