I heard this saying many times as I was growing up: “Walk a mile in my shoes!” My mom said it often . . . she meant we should not judge people unless we have all the facts. That sounds good in theory, but being the emotional beings we are it is sometimes difficult to put into practice.
My life has had its share of ups and downs; as I’m sure has everyone else. I still try to apply the wisdom of my mom to situations I encounter in my daily life. Sometimes I am more successful than others! I am more successful I think when I have had a similar experience, or have more facts about the situation than someone else may have. I am less successful when I am in uncharted waters with no experiences from which to draw.
Another saying that goes hand in hand with this one is the one that says when we assume we make an “a** out of you and me.” Ah yes, I know how true this one is from first-hand experiences. Even so, I still occasionally repeat the same mistake . . . and usually with disastrous results!
Unfortunately life doesn’t offer do-overs for those times when we mess up so badly we want to just crawl in a hole or retreat inside our turtle shells. And as many times as I have wished I could do something over or take back something I said in a moment of anger, I realize that would not really solve what was at the heart of the matter. The potential would always be there to react in the same way the next time the same circumstances occurred. All anyone of us can hope is that each time life hands us one of these moments, we learn a little something.
~KK
Tags: Advice
