It takes a lot to be in someone’s shoes when you are coming from a place of privilege. When you are on ‘higher ground’, it’s easier to judge. It’s easy to be the rich man and throw scraps at Lazarus. I can only imagine the surge of pride and righteousness you get whenever they look up helplessly at you. It gives power.
The one thing any animal craves, and yet only a few can get. The one thing that God had to kick Satan out of heaven for. When you are powerful, you automatically qualify for all other ‘good’ qualities. Only the powerful can be righteous, holy, wise, all-good. The weak get to keep all the other qualities. They can be lazy, undeserving, evil, damned.
So maybe, being in someone’s shoes takes a lot more than we actually think. Maybe it starts with a change of perspective. By asking the ‘What if’ questions. What if reality as we know it is inverted? What if the good guys are actually the bad guys? What if what we consider bad is actually good? What if what we are doing isn’t actually what we should be doing?
To be in someone’s shoes requires you to have a little bit of self-analysis. To be able to ask the question of ‘How do I feel’, ‘how do they feel’, and consequently, ‘how would I feel if I felt like them’?