Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Woman Who Had No Shoes

There once was a woman who had no shoes. She had a fancy car. She had money. She wanted for nothing. But she had no shoes, at least none that have ever been worn.
 
Beware! She's loose among us. You will recognize her by her shoes. Her soles are unmarked. There is not a scuff, not a scratch, not a drop of mud, nor a rain drop, nor a single tear upon them.

How can this be, you wonder? I will tell you. It's because she has no soul. She has never walked a mile in anyone's shoes, not even her own.

In this day and age of endless rancor and bitter attacks, we have forgotten to be civilized, and as a result, the most vulnerable among us have suffered grievous harm to the heart and emotional distress for the soul. Case in point?

I have a very dear friend who has struggled with cancer, cancer treatment, and a myriad of complications for several years now. She happens to be one of the finest people I know. She's a teacher, whose wise counsel has shaped many minds. She's a mentor to children whose lives have been torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. She's a loving and kind daughter, who cares for parents now challenged with their own health issues. She's a writer, whose eloquent voice has inspired so many of us. She's a musician, whose songs have delighted crowds. And now, she's a human being who deserves to be defended in the face of an unconscionable attack.

She was recently out in public, hoping to have a pleasant time after suffering through more physical pain than any person should have to endure. Slowly making her way from the curb onto the sidewalk, she was assailed by verbal abuse that spewed forth from the mouth of the woman with no shoes.

Just imagine how much energy it required for my friend to put one foot in front of the other as those words stung. Picture the effort she made to move each leg as her heart filled with tears. There she was, minding her own business, determined to get on with the business of living her life. And what did she get for it? A vicious insult so outrageous that I will not even repeat the gist of it, because it was so very wrong. This kind, tender-hearted soul was attacked by a mean, self-absorbed woman with no shoes. For those of us who love her, our frustration with the injustice of it all knows no bounds.

My sweet friend is a woman of many shoes. She is the light in a dark world. Every sole of every shoe she has worn is marked not only by her own experience, but by the depth of her love, compassion, and wisdom. She has a closet filled with these relics of her journey through life, and each pair has a story to tell.

The woman with no shoes has made no mark of her time here on Earth. Tis a poor, loveless creature that has never known the joy of being, an empty soul that has never known the treasure of having real love shone upon her. I have no doubt that love is all around her, but until she puts on a pair of shoes that belong to another human being, she will see and hear nothing.

Every time we learn from the people around us, we are made better by it. Every time we put ourselves aside and we seek to see the world from another's perspective, we grow in wisdom and compassion. It's not enough to recognize the differences that separate us. We must take that understanding and make sense of it. Who we are and what we do defines us as human beings. It is our responsibility to make the world a better place, not through tearing it apart, but by shaping it with loving hands.

If the woman with no shoes had taken a single step in any one of my friend's shoes, she could have been transformed. That's how powerful and profound my dear friend's wisdom is. To embrace life with such zeal in the face of overwhelming adversity has created a superhuman spirit that knows no bounds. We need more superheroes in this day of nasty, vile, antisocial interactions.

But to be a superhero, you must walk in many, many shoes. Not just the comfortable ones. Not just the ones that fit, or look good, or attract compliments. You must slip on the ones that pinch to learn about the pain of being narrow-minded and the ones that are too big to understand how much room you have to grow. Your journey begins and ends with you, and how far you are willing to go is something you must decide. When you become tired of the endless bitterness and rancor, put on a new pair of shoes. And as you wear out each subsequent pair, take what you have learned and share the wisdom. That is the power of shoes that have been worn well.