Walking in the Shoes of Others

Compassion Cometh Through Struggles...

It was the day after the funeral, and my mom and I had a few errands to run. I sat writing thank you cards while she got a haircut--my goal was to write ALL of her thank you cards prior to leaving to Boise. After a few hours of running around, we stopped for lunch at a local Mexican Restaurant. After we had finished eating, I sat waiting in the lobby while my mom excused herself to the restroom. As I sat alone by the exit, I was hit with a rush of emotion. I held my head high and tried to control the tears that wanted to roll down my cheeks. I chided myself for crying around so many strangers. I watched as person after person passed through the exit while I waited for my mom. All of a sudden a new understanding opened to my mind. Each and every person exiting the restaurant had a story. Some of them could be experiencing great joy, while others could be experiencing great sadness. It really didn't matter who was passing me, I simply knew that each of them had "something" in their life that was either happy or sad. The knowledge that each of us pass through moments of joy and moments of sadness created a new understanding in my mind. As I sat trying to control my tears, I realized that no one in that restaurant knew that my little brother had just died. No one knew that I had spoken at his funeral just the day before. No one knew that he was my best friend, and that I was missing him like crazy. No one knew the heartbreak I was feeling as I sat alone in the restaurant. And as my mind thought on this realization, my heart opened to my fellow brethren, to all those that passed me on their way out the restaurant and all those who would ever pass me by, to everyone--my heart opened to all people everywhere, and I desired to see people more clearly, to love more deeply, to see with spiritual eyes all those who crossed my path or would ever cross my path. I may not know the struggles that are hidden from my view, but I can choose to love. I can choose to be more aware. Even if I can only offer a smile--I can do that. I prayed at that moment to be more genuinely kind to everyone everywhere for I knew that I could never walk in their shoes, but I could love them as if I had.