Despite what the text in the photo above implies, I learned the expression "semper ubi sub ubi" when I took Latin in high school a few decades ago. If you click on the photo, you'll see the website from which the I took the image; the post there seems super helpful if you want to learn about computer programming. Alas, I don't.
I was thinking about this expression recently, and I get that it sounds better in both Latin and English without the word clean in there, but I think it's more useful with that qualifier. Of course, maybe I think that because I'm not tempted to go commando.
Did anyone ever admonish you, as a child to "Always wear clean underwear because you don't know what's going to happen"? I don't remember hearing that line from my parents, but I certainly learned it somewhere and have been thinking about it a lot lately because things have happened that I couldn't have predicted.
Before I explain my main idea, I ask you to consider Jane Austen. I'd argue that what was revolutionary about Jane Austen's novels is that she captured the everyday goings-on in parlors to create the fodder of literature. She wrote about what the women were doing in ways that made them them subject rather than something not worth writing about. But in that process, she also implied that even when we're in our own homes, we might be the object of someone's gaze. And knowing that we might be examined at any moment might cause many of us angst.
But really, I'd say that if you're behaving all the time in ways that you wouldn't mind being exposed and critiqued, you're probably living well. Many events in my life have shown me that there's no way to predict what's coming along. At any moment, we might not be able to do the work we've been putting off. If we're all caught up on our work, or even ahead, then the detours don't affect anything and don't end up embarrassing us. Being up-to-date is the equivalent of wearing clean underwear. A bump in the road for someone who's getting the job done (whatever the job is) won't cause any indecent exposures.
What do you think? Are you the type who puts things off and hopes for the best or plans early and sometimes has to backtrack? I hope you'll share some thoughts about these ideas in the comments.