A Strangers Footsteps...

"But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew, never knew." 

~ Pocahontas, Colors of the Wind

Many times we often judge people by their looks. If someone's appearance looks scary, don't we try to stay far away from them? With the appearance of being scary isn't there an inkling that the person is a bad person or has a troubled life. How do we know what that person is going through or why they dress the way that they do? For all that we know a normal dressed person could be going through tougher things than a person who's appearance is scary. Growing up we have always heard the term "stranger danger". Of course that is referencing young children to not talk to adults that they do not know. But don't we carry that sense of "stranger danger" when we meet new people? Do we not guard and protect ourselves from people we do not know, and then only slowly do we begin to reveal parts of ourselves to them? But then again Strangers can becomes our greatest Friends. 


In the Disney movie Pocahontas, John Smith is a stranger. He has come from some unknown land and to the Native Americans he is dangerous. The chief warns Pocahontas to stay away from him. But their was something about this stranger that attracted Pocahontas to him. As she began to hang out with John she began to teach him her culture and her likes and dislikes, and in return John began to teach her new things too. Suddenly the tide turns and Pocahontas' dad finds out about their secret meetings and wants start a war between the Native American's and John's people. It was only by walking through John's footsteps for a few days that she began to realize that he really wasn't a stranger at all, he was a friend.


I have this one friend who is definitely out of this world. His views on life simply blow my mind and I really honestly have no idea where the heck he gets the ideas that he puts in his head. Of course by going to a private school nobody can really look scary, because we all look the same. I remember girls complaining about that because there is no way that they could express themselves. Anyway, this one friend in particular scared me. It wasn't by the way that he dressed or by the way that he walked, it was merely by the way that he talked and expressed his views and ideas. I was one of the upper class-men that lead peer discussions with the freshman. During those sessions I would be afraid to call on him because I was worried he was going to say something that I could not handle. I would simply just say, "Hmm interesting, alright now moving on." With that being said, I would avoid calling on him all together. 


About two years later, he and I wound up on a Kairos experience together. And it wasn't until then did the lyrics of "Colors of the Wind" really kick in. There were underlying reasons that caused this person to be the way that he is. Reasons that made him a stranger to me and reasons that I did not know until I walked in his footsteps through listening to him talk about all the things that conflicted inside of him. Now, I'm not so scared anymore. 


If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you will learn things that you never knew. You will learn things to help you understand a person and will learn things that wil lead you to become a better friend. Take a chance to walk in the footsteps of a person whom you don't know or maybe walk in someone's footsteps to help you get to know them better.