Footwear

How many shoes do you own?

I had to check on this one. I have 5 pairs of closed toed shoes including sneakers & tennis shoes, 4 pairs of sandals, 3 pairs of flat dress shoes, 2 pairs of heels, 2 pairs of slippers, a pair of work boots, and a pair of ghillies (Scottish country dancing shoes). A lot more than originally thought! But I'm sure many of you have me beat.

Naturally the shoes we're wearing match the occasion. When I'm wearing the flat soled dress shoes I'm in work-mode. If I'm going to be walking around all day, tourist style, I'll put on the sneakers. If I'm checking the mail I'll slip into a pair of sandals.

On the flip side, there are shoes that you would certainly never wear in some settings. I would never have worn sandals or sneakers to work unless I was coming in on the weekend (I understand that this is different for professions such as farming, nursing, and graphic design). Likewise I would never lace up the ghillies to check the mail.

Putting on your shoes is pretty much the last thing you do before you're ready to go. I had an uncle who would run around, stressed out, getting ready to go on vacation. You know- last minute packing and errands. But once he put his "vacation shoes" on, he relaxed. Now he was on vacation.

Perhaps this is the reason that shoes are identified with a viewpoint. Vacation shoes, work shoes, dancin' shoes.. they each represent a different outlook.

Have you ever paused to take off your own shoes, and then put on someone else's?

It would be nearly impossible to get to know someone without having stepped into their shoes at some point. Sometimes people say or do things that just don't make sense. Try on their shoes for a moment. Look at the situation from their perspective. Empathize. You may still not understand, but it's a start. And they will appreciate you for it.