Shoes

Shoes. I’m not a shoe afficionado, but I do love me some Allbirds. That’s my shoe of choice right now. And, yea, I probably have more than I need (fine, I have 5 pairs). I’m sure you have your favorite shoe(s) as well – the ones that are super comfy, that look amazing, that make you feel special, that you could wear every single day. You’re also probably wondering: “Andy, why the hell are you writing about shoes?” Good question. Not sure. Maybe I’m trying to shoehorn an analogy into this newsletter. Get it? Shoehorn? <Sigh>…ok, let’s keep going. 

I remember in my teenage years (back when “messaging” meant sending something by courier pigeon), I’d sometimes go bowling with my friends. Remember the bowling shoes we rented? They looked like clown shoes, smelled like gnarly disinfectant spray, and never quite fit right. They were uncomfortable and awkward. But we had fun, laughed a lot, and couldn’t wait to jump back into our regular shoes that seemed to caress our feet in a way we’d never noticed before. Looking back, I learned something from those shoes.

(Necessary digression). Man, there is a lot going on in the world right now. In many ways, we seem more divided than I can ever remember in my lifetime. We appear to have lost our ability to engage in rational, reasonable dialogue. We have cataloged people into “groups” that either align to our thinking and world view…or don’t. There are stories of folks moving families across the country to either “blue” cities or “red” cities here in the US. It can feel like a gaping chasm. The end result is oftentimes hurt feelings, rage, and a sense of being devalued.

So, what does this have to do with shoes? Well, everything. What I learned from wearing uncomfortable bowling shoes is that I had to remove myself from an environment I knew well (my comfy shoes) and be a little bit uncomfortable (bowling shoes) to enjoy an evening with my friends. A perfect analogy? No, not at all. But hopefully it illustrates the point. Sometimes we need to walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes – no matter how uncomfortable it is – to gain perspective, to see the world through a different lens, to understand the challenges and obstacles someone else is struggling to overcome.

I’ll be the first to admit I need to do a better job of this. For those of you that know me, I speak candidly – sometimes it’s helpful; sometimes folks wish I had a mute button. I know I’ve said things that seem innocuous to me but turned out to be hurtful to someone else (unintentional, of course). But if I had taken a moment to try on another pair of shoes, I might have seen the situation a bit differently (and beyond just my world view) before opening my mouth.

Will we always agree? Of course not. If you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, does that mean you agree with their world view? Not at all. But it potentially opens the door to empathy and a little bit of understanding in this crazy world — a chance to be human together.

And, of course, if that doesn’t work out, you’re now a mile away from that person and you have their shoes. 😉 

Until next week.

Cheers,

Andy