Today I got my first ever shoe shine and pedicure. My shoes needed a miracle, but the guy worked his magic and they came out shining. They looked so nice that I barely wanted to walk in them. I watched my every step very closely as if my shoes were brand new again. (NOTE: Walking while staring at your shoes on a New York sidewalk is not a good idea.) Later on in the day I got a pedicure. After 25 years of soccer, baseball, and basketball, it was about time. Neither one was planned (at least not by me), but in hindsight it all makes sense.

Oftentimes we make sure the external looks clean even if the internal doesn't. But what good is a clean glass with dirty water in it? What good is a nice looking car without a functioning engine? What good is a clean body with an impure spirit? Nobody puts on a brand new outfit before showering. There is no point in making the outside look good if the inside is impure for the outside will always ultimately reflect what is inside. Therefore it makes sense that I polished both my shoes (the external) and my feet (the internal).

We've all heard the story about Jesus washing his disciples' feet, but it wasn't until today that I finally "understood" what that action meant. Our feet are the foundation of our body. They symbolize understanding; they are "under" us and we "stand" on them. Wherever our feet go, our body has to go. When our feet are clean, we are more likely to walk a clean path and be more careful where we step. Through the washing of the feet, Jesus was simply using a physical example to make the spiritual statement that his disciples "wash their understanding".

In the same way that we wash our feet (our physical under-standing), we must also cleanse our beliefs (our spiritual under-standing). Our beliefs are what we stand on and dictate the direction of our lives just like our feet direct our bodies. Our beliefs lead our feet and our feet lead our bodies...to light or darkness. If our beliefs are false, flawed, or filthy, they will lead us down false, flawed, and filthy paths. We each have the power to choose between opposing beliefs like the law of abundance vs. the law of scarcity, freedom vs. security, matter-ialsm (what matters) vs. materialism (what doesn't matter). Only through the washing of our "understanding" will we begin to make pure choices and usher the world along a more righteous path.

Is it time for a pedicure?