“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”-To Kill A Mockingbird 

I have always loved this quote from one of my favorite classics, To Kill A Mockingbird. The book, in all honestly, isn’t really about mockingbirds. The book’s main theme is doing the right thing even when everyone else is against you, and putting everything on the line to help another person. In order to do this, the main character (Atticus Finch) is forced to put himself in the shoes of a lot of different people, as he strives to defend an innocent man accused of crime.

Oftentimes, it can be easy to consider things from our perspective, but difficult to understand life in another’s shoes. Look no further than Twitter to find that too often, human beings are better at speaking than listening. As a society, we criticize other’s choices without taking the time to understand the motive behind their actions. While we may not always agree with the decisions that someone makes, we’re bound to have more compassion when looking at the world from another’s perspective.

I believe that the best way to “climb into someone’s skin and walk around in it” is to listen. Through listening, we validate that the person we’re listening to matters, and that we care about their thoughts and feelings. James 1:19 says “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

Imagine what would happen if everyone took the time to listen and really hear the stories of those around them. If everyone did this, so many of our social ills, such as hate, racism, and violence, would fade away. Our entire world would be turned upside-down, simply by practicing the art of seeing life through another’ eyes; taking the time to listen and care and love people where they’re at. ❤️

We can be a spark that starts a fire.

Let us start a movement of love.

A movement of listening.

A movement of walking in another’s shoes. 

If you want to read more about this topic, I wrote something similar a while back. You can find it in the link here.

Since I forgot yesterday, I’m going to nominate six people today. 

Concealed Foundation 

Only Way 2 Hope 

Papberry 

Passion and Pixels 

Victoria Favor 

Aschulting