Walking in Another's Boots

Recently I had the privilege of attending a training for mental health providers who provide mental health services to firefighters. This was no ordinary training! The first half of the day involved experiencing BEING a firefighter, as you can see below--that's me wielding a very heavy and uncooperative fire hose turned on full blast. My partner and I really struggled to manage it. Wearing hot and heavy gear that weighed almost seventy pounds didn't help. In addition to learning fire hose wrangling, we learned how to bust out a car windshield to free an injured person trapped inside, how to break open a locked metal door to rescue survivors, how to give CPR to an infant (don't break the ribs!), how to plug a gaping wound to stop someone from bleeding out, and how to white knuckle going up in a fire truck bucket ten stories high.

Then, after three hours of these instructive but grueling exercises, the final exercise involved full regalia: helmet, face mask, and oxygen tank. The technique to breathe via the mask was not comfortable, believe me! The purpose of these additional tortures was to safely climb up two flights of stairs in an enclosed tower with smoke and flames all around you (simulated, thank goodness) and carrying (read: dragging) the fire hose. This is me waiting my turn for that delightful experience!

That last training exercise just about did me in. I think of myself as being strong and steady under pressure, but I was unprepared for the stress and fear surging through me.

I came away from that training with a profound respect and admiration for what firefighters actually do and a small taste of the extreme circumstance under which they do it. Sure, the instructor could have described it to us in the classroom where we spent the second half of the day sitting in blessedly cool comfort in normal clothes, but it wouldn't have had the same impact.

Walking in another's "boots" deepens our awareness and appreciation for their experience. Whose boots have you strapped on and walked in lately? You don't need to "walk a mile" in them, but a few steps clomping around in them can surely begin to change our perspective. Sometimes that is just what is needed to grow understanding and generate compassion for another's hard road.

Our world needs that sensitivity and empathy right now.