Have You Walked in my Shoes?

Thought and Poem – January 27, 2015

Wow, I can’t believe I just managed to live through a couple of the worse weeks of my life. Don’t believe they were the ultimate worse weeks, but they run up there with the best of them. Whew!

Sometimes I wonder where I get the energy to keep moving like the Duracell Bunny Rabbit. I have not gotten younger in any way; shape or form and I am anticipating that the culminating of years as I age will keep me expecting more of what I already have on my plate.

It doesn’t matter who we talk with but it seems as if all are facing some kind of limitation that makes life even more unbearable for them. There may be things they experience in our lives that we think they should be able to tough it out and power through. But, who are we to assume how they can get through what they are going through or what they can endure?

There are many things we like to compare with one another when we get together or just in general. Woes and sicknesses seem to be on the top of the list of what people talk about these days. Can’t get around it as we are all being weighed down with more problems than we wish to have but unless you have walked in the other person’s shoes, we should not be quick to make a judgment about what they can endure. Instead maybe we could open our hearts and minds and offer what we can to help one another and when we can’t do anything, we can always direct our thoughts “upward” and there is someone much higher than us…who can help all of us get through our hard times.

It also helps when we know our limitations and do what we can. We also at times need learn to accept that our limitations even if it means we have to be creative in finding ways to do what we have always been able to do before.

What about you? Do you allow limitations to keep you from moving forward or do you have that Duracell Bunny Rabbit spirit and keeps you going? Share your thoughts with us…Jeanne Claire Probst

Have You Walked In My Shoes?

If you have not walked in my shoes,

Don’t put me down when I complain, when I am down, or when I cry the blues.

And don’t tell me to “get over it” and to tell you something “new.”

What I go through I would never wish on anyone else.

I wouldn’t know how to take care of you as I have a hard time taking care of myself.

But I would not stifle you when you talk and I would do all I could to help.

But, you are not me and I am not you.

And I am not accountable for all the things you say and do.

And please don’t judge me for my weaknesses and I won’t judge you.

We both have to live together in this world either way.

And no matter which way our lives are hurled we both have to face each day.

We each have to do what we can to get through this life but don’t complain if you don’t understand me as you have not walked in my shoes today.

Jeanne Claire Probst