$100 per pair of shoes sounds like a fair deal ....

I don't blame the shoe companies.

I don't blame the marketers  - I'm one of them!
I don't actually know who to blame.

But I'm sitting here watching courts full of young Aussies playing basketball wearing shiny great shoes. They are awesome!  Great colors and styles.  All have that 'new shoe' look about them.

But it gives me a conundrum.

The shinier the betterer!

I wish I had $100 for every pair of feet here.  How could I get every kid to spend $100 on new basket ball shoes and not $200.  Then think what could be done with that extra money.

Do the maths:  10 kids per game = $1,000 per game.

Even at half price allowing for discounts and hand me downs.

Every kid here has shoes that are shiny and new. Nike the most. A few Adidas, a few Asics. 

I can't see any Michael Jordan's out there. But I can see plenty of his shoes.

My kids are out there too. Wearing great shoes that are, admittedly, hand me downs.

Not just cool shoes .... you have to have the latest cool Nike socks as well!

Basketball was created for social purpose. Now that purpose appears long lost amidst the culture of shiny new footwear somehow justified as necessary.

Now I'm just as suckered into this as well. Ask me to run a marathon in a pair of Dunlop Volleys and I'll give you a pseudo-scientific/health reason why I couldn't possibly.

It goes to the heart of consumerism. Why buy a Mercedes when a Commodore gets you there at the same time (and I'm as guilty at selling these to anyone).

Yes, it was a little strange taking photos of feet. Wonder what the people sitting next to me thought!

So here's the challenge amidst the conundrum. Instead of making it 'cool' to wear the latest and greatest shoe endorsed by an overpaid NBA star, how could we make ourselves cool by wearing shoes that don't require Kobe Bryant to earn $34 million in endorsements - in 2014 alone!  

How might we make our status and worth - and self reward - measured by what we have to give to others.
Make giving the reward rather than getting?

How can we make 'giving' more cool than 'having'?

Make being the best we can be = 'cool'. Wrapping up our identity in doing good not looking good. Linking our identities perceived 'worth' to how we share with others.  Imagine these basketball players saying "you're cool  'cos you gave 'x',  not have 'x' ", or "You deserve that cos you shared 'x' not  asked for 'y'". Even better; "You have worth because you gave away a shirt, not because of the shirt you wear."

I don't get it. I struggle with it.

Recently I heard the true story of a place where the richest person gives everything away in their community and gets to wear a gold cloak. His identity not tied up in the cloak but the esteem that comes from giving everything away. Now that's pretty "cool".

Wish you could buy an extra foot in height as easily as you can in shoes!
Would have helped my game for sure!!

I admit I don't get this consumerism thing. I struggle with it.
But I do believe that changing the world starts with me. That "be the change you wish to see" is true.
So I'll do what I can do. And try not to judge the kids who will grow out their new shiny shoes and buy newer shinier ones by the time I finish this post!

I'll try and make giving my reward, do what I can do and find my worth in the journey.

Or maybe I just should buy shares in Nike.