Now back to John on the couch with the Chihuahuas. Those of you who missed the events of last week, Marti and I have had the inside of our house painted. After a week of chaos, I moved Marti to a motel 45 minutes away while I stayed in the house, sleeping on the couch with the dogs and the mess.
We are actually all back to normal now. Marti is home; the dogs are in their usual places. The only problem we’re going to have is keeping the dogs off the couch which used to be off limits and suddenly was home for five days. Unfortunately we can’t explain this to them; they’ll just have to get used to fluctuating rules.
We’ve also run into another problem with the dogs. Somebody is pooping in the house. After some thought I think I can explain this one. During the painting, the the entire floor was covered in paper. I bet the dogs must have thought the whole floor was one giant piddle pad!
As silly as it might seem, this is a good example of what it means to stand in someone else’s shoes (except in this case, it’s standing in someone else’s paws).
Imagine you’re a dog and you’ve been trained not to pee and poop in the house. This doesn’t make much sense to you—a floor is a floor whether it’s carpet or hard wood, or grass; it’s all the same to you—but you have learned to respect it anyway. And now suddenly the floor is covered in paper. Immediately you flash back to your puppyhood when you used to tumble out from the huddled mass of your brothers and sisters and smelled the newsprint in your box and felt the paper under your paws and the joy of relieving yourself just came over you. Well, its happening again; you can’t help it.
I know its a silly illustration, but the process is the same for standing in someone else’s shoes. You imagine what it must be like to be them. What gives them joy? What gives them pain? What do they long for? What are their fears? What is life like for them?
When you stand in someone else’s shoes you not only answer those questions, you experience what they experience. You go through it with them.
It’s really not that hard. Just be someone else. And if you need practice at this, imagine yourself as a dog, looking up at those huge people all around you. Try it. Put yourself in someone else’s paws. Just remember, you’ve got four of them.
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Hebrews 13:3
