you can always clean up

I often forget that I can always clean up.

The best example I have are somewhat unsettling, but even that very fact is telling:
If I dropped something in the toilet (say my glasses) - I'd be terribly hesitant to reach in and grab them. Why? Because I'm afraid of the dirty water! But it's just dirty water. You can always wash it off and make both your hand and your glasses even cleaner than before!

I guess what I'm attempting to point out is that...we shouldn't be nearly as afraid of jumping in and getting dirty as we are. Wrinkles can always be ironed, feet can always be washed, etc...and the reason is that all of this dirt is on the outside. It has not truly penetrated us, cannot have any lasting harm.

And, if I may stretch to do so, I'd like to suggest that this is a metaphor for how we choose to lead our lives. People on a very set path are so afraid of muddying that path with things that might lead them in another direction, or might conflict with a step on their path. Why? Because the path is so comforting! It's nice to feel like you know where you're going - just like it's nice to know that your hands are unequivocally clean!

But think about what you're risking vs. what your potential benefits are! You're really not risking anything - you can always find a way to be clean again, just as you can always clamber back onto the same defined path again. BUT if you never step off, if you're always afraid to get a little dirty...well then not only do you lose your glasses, but you lose the beautifully view that you were unwilling to walk through the knee deep mud to snap a picture of.

Don't for a moment allow things that can be cleaned right back up to stop you.