What if I could take the trip of a lifetime…

through the body, mind, and circumstances of every other creature on the planet?

What if I could taste what it feels like to be rich, poor, ugly, beautiful, male, female, healthy, infirm, free, enslaved, gifted, disabled, compulsive, deliberate, short, tall, fat, skinny, brilliant, dull, black, white, ignorant, educated, sated, hungry, young, old, and everything in between?

Would I discover a universal thread that connects all things, a common ground that could put all our divisive illusions and fears to rest… or would I just see the mindlessness, confusion, anxiety, despair, chaos, and loneliness of undirected natural and cultural selection?

Which of my working theories… about myself and others… would survive this epic journey?

Would I reaffirm freedom, hope, and engagement or resign myself to cynicism and withdrawal?

Would I be more inclined to love or fear my neighbor?
(Perhaps both at the same time?)

So, whose shoes would I like to walk in today?

Whose shoes do I need to walk in today?

I may not be able to walk in their shoes, but I can at least walk with them for a while, and try to understand what it is like to be someone else.

And who knows? They may even show an interest in understanding what it is like to be me.

Education Existentialism Humanism compassion empathy existentialism friendship humanism meaning of life