To understand the poem Walk a Mile in His Moccasins, run a mile with this group

Article by Claudia Kittock

Walk a Mile in His Moccasins

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.

There may be tears in his soles that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
The burden he bears placed on your back
May cause you to stumble and fall, too. . .

Several years ago I heard about a Minneapolis group of volunteers who come to shelters twice at week at 6 a.m. and run with anyone who wants to run. The group, A Mile In My Shoes, sounded compelling.  My experiences with this group changed me and how I view every part of my life.

The power of volunteering is meeting and being with people different from the people in our day-to-day lives.  I have never experienced homelessness and know nothing about it. Running gave me that context. I discovered that people I run with shared many of my struggles as a runner.  As we run, we talk about our kids, our day, our aches and pains, and how much we wish we could run faster and easier. All of the people I have run with share the human struggle to run. Jose told me that running was the only time in his week when no one asked if he had found a job, if he was sober, if had called his kids.  We share the experience of running together, struggling to do our best to finish the run and discover our shared humanity.

I learned that the people I run with are like me except for a twist in their life that I haven’t experienced.  Was that twist caused by something immoral they did, some personal failing? Not unless you consider a tornado destroying your home a moral failing, or a farm accident, or a layoff when the economy tanked, or coming home from Iraq with PTSD something you caused or deserved.

I have the best conversations on my runs.  I look forward to running with Jason, who has read dozens of books on philosophy.  I look forward to running with Henry who teaches me about history on every single run.  I look forward to running with Laura who has 6 kids, all of them grown and close to my own children’s ages.  We talk about mothering adults, and all the complexities that go with it.

I am a different person because I dared to walk into a shelter at 6 a.m. I learned that the only way to change the world is by changing myself, and that change comes by being bold, by daring to talk with someone different than myself, by daring to spend time listening, and by daring to admit all the things I do not know and understand.

My challenge for all of us as we go about our week is to be bold and to dare yourself. Smile at someone you don’t know. Say, ‘hello’ to a complete stranger. Sit by someone you would never sit by.  Introduce yourself and begin a conversation. Listen with sincere interest, admitting that there are things you don’t know. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. What you will gain from these experiences will far outweigh anything you invest.

Walk a Mile in His Moccasins

...Brother, there but for the grace of God go you and I.
Just for a moment, slip into his mind and traditions
And see the world through his spirit and eyes
Before you cast a stone or falsely judge his conditions.

Remember to walk a mile in his moccasins
And remember the lessons of humanity taught to you by your elders.
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave
In other people's lives, our kindnesses and generosity.

Take the time to walk a mile in his moccasins.

Mary T. Lathrap 

Editor's Note - Click here for the full Walk a Mile in His Moccasins poem. 

Claudia can be reached at claudia@millcitymedia.org