What's Your Shoe Size???

We've all heard the expression in some form or another to walk a mile in another's shoes.  Can this truly be done?? How do you do this?

Sympathy:
Feel sorry for; Feel pity for; Feel bad for

Empathy:
 Identifying with or experiencing vicariously another's thought, feeling, or attitude. To feel their pain.

while others have starved

i've been hungry

I've never been without at least 2 quarters for a pack of Ramen noodles or family/friends to feed me.

while others have died of dehydration

i have been thirsty

I've had running water, access to water fountains, and even clean, running streams.

while others have frozen to death

i have been cold

I've had access to warm homes, received gifts of blankets and clothing. 

Many of our religious/spiritual/moral/ethics/values tell us to have not only sympathy, but empathy. We are taught the ideal of putting ourselves in another's place. How many of us can truly do this? 

For me right now, I'm on several journeys at the same time. My educational journey is going hand in hand with my spiritual journey. My work journey is teaching me patience, compassion, persistence, and learning to think in others terminology. My new friendships are teaching me different cultures, different values, and different ways of living life. My personal relationship is teaching me communication, how to let someone else be strong sometimes, give and take, and a whole new way of family interaction. 

This is all just the last year and a half of my life. I'm living my early forties and I'm just now truly understanding sympathy is not always enough. However, how do we really learn empathy for someone living a completely different life? How do we have empathy when we are on the autism spectrum for someone who is neuro-typical and visa-versa? Can a person who is grounded in their spirituality have empathy for someone with no spirituality? Can a person of no faith have empathy for a person of faith? 

Tonight I offer little in the way of answers or guidance, tonight I am asking the questions. 

How do YOU walk in someone else's shoes?