The Platform Shoe

by allinspiration.com

James was a curious young man. Everywhere he went, he liked to observe things and to watch people. People and what they did, what they wore.
Subconsciously, though, he was making snap judgements all the time. He couldn't really help it, it just happened.

For example, there was once he saw a young woman who was skimpily dressed and wore thick make up and a lot of accessories. Must be a promiscuous woman, he thought.

Another time, he saw a man whose body was covered with tattoos. That man was well-bodied and walked with a swagger. James imagined him beating people up, sometimes with poles and sometimes with his bare hands, spewing vulgarities each time he opened his mouth. A hooligan, or member of some gang, a wife-beater, perhaps, James thought to himself.

Sometimes James felt guilty for judging others this way, but that feeling was fleeting and never really lasted.

Then, one time, he saw a woman seated alone in a cafe. The woman was middle-aged, quite plump, and although she was not standing, James could tell she was a short lady. As usual, James glanced across at her, looking at her from top to bottom. As his eyes reached her feet, he got a shock.

There she was, on her left foot, wearing a platform shoe that was at least 3 inches high. How could such a little middle-aged lady who was average looking at best be so vain as to wear such high platforms? What was she trying to do? Look gorgeous? It was startling yet embarrassing at the same time. In that short moment of time, condemning thoughts flowed through James' mind.

A split second later, James' eyes naturally moved across to the lady's right foot. And there, he got an even bigger shock - it was a flat shoe. She was no vain pot; she merely had a birth defect - uneven length of her legs. If anything, she deserved sympathy and understanding, certainly not condemnation, not even mental ones.

James was struck with overwhelming guilt. It was a harsh lesson he had to learn about not jumping to conclusions, about not judging people, especially so quickly.