Walking in Others’ Shoes (646 words)

This is not exactly a short story, an interloper finding its way here, but it has a good moral to tell in these struggling times. I would be happy to receive your feedback.

I once read a story about a king who met a sage in the forest. After bowing respectfully, the king assured the sage that he would grant him any wish. To the king’s surprise, the sage asked for his kingdom. Without hesitation, the king agreed and stepped aside.

The sage immediately began making sweeping changes. He declared that the king’s consorts in the harem would become maids, while the maids would take their place as consorts. He threw the jailer and wardens into the prison and released the prisoners to act as warders. Courtiers were sent to toil in the fields while farmers were summoned to the royal court. A young commoner was made prince, while the former prince was publicly whipped. Even the sentries at the gates were replaced. The traders were compelled to part with their shops to the willing common folks for a fair price

Those who lost their privileges rushed to complain to the old king, while those who had been elevated rejoiced. The king, however, remained silent.

After a fortnight, the sage returned the kingdom to the king, saying, “My purpose has been served.” 

Bewildered, the king asked what his purpose was.

The sage explained:

ü  “Your queen and consorts abused the maids, blind to their struggles.

ü  The jailer and wardens tormented the prisoners without mercy.

ü  Your courtiers ignored the people’s hardships and fed you only with flattering lies.

ü  The arrogant prince lashed out at all the people for the smallest reasons.

ü  Even your sentries at the gate extorted money from the poor for entering your palace.

ü  The traders adulterated the goods and sold them at exorbitant prices, even to the poor

 Now, each has tasted their own medicine. Let them reflect and reform. Rule your country well by independently checking the veracity of statements made by your courtiers and officials”.

The king bowed in gratitude as the sage departed.

The message of this story is timeless: we only begin to understand the sufferings of others when we put ourselves in their place. If rulers truly walked in the shoes of the poor, even metaphorically, since the poor often have no shoes at all, they would grasp the misery of living in filthy slums, with no clean water, no toilets, no schools, no clinics, rising prices, and meagre incomes. Officials would realise the humiliation of navigating a corrupt system where nothing moves without bribes. Traders would feel the shame of selling adulterated goods. Doctors would know the pain of patients being fleeced. The courtiers would be doubly careful in their feedback. The list goes on.

But this lesson applies far beyond rulers. It belongs in every human relationship—at home, in workplaces, in classrooms, and in public life. Imagine if spouses understood each other’s burdens, if parents and children saw through one another’s eyes, if bosses knew the struggles of employees, if teachers grasped the challenges of students, and if lawyers lived the anxieties of litigants. Most importantly, if rulers and the ruled could truly see each other’s realities without other ulterior motives, society would be far more compassionate.

Only when we learn to walk in another’s shoes do we begin to see where the shoe really pinches. Only then can we say with honesty, “I understand your pain, and I will do what I can to ease it.”

For now, however, many powerful remain cocooned in comfort, insulated from the weak and remain blind to ground realities. Yet it is never too late. Perhaps the first step toward a just and humane world is to ask ourselves, again and again: What would it feel like to walk a mile in another’s shoes?