“Walk a mile in his moccasins,” is a quote attributed to various Native American writers or tribes. However, it comes from a beautiful poem written by Mary T. Lathrap in 1895. The original title was “Judge Softly.” It’s a very long poem, but the first stanza is:
“Pray, don’t find fault with the man that limps,
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the moccasins he wears,
Or stumbled beneath the same load.”
Judging softly is hard for all of us. Our brains are quick to make assumptions and apply patterns so we can understand what is around us. However, with maturity and thoughtfulness, we learn empathy and sympathy.
For a child who has spent their life in survival mode, empathy and sympathy are especially difficult to learn. It seems counterintuitive. We want to think that if a person has suffered, they automatically feel compassion for another’s suffering. Sometimes that happens. Other times, when a person, a child, has had to protect themselves from harm, that becomes their only focus. It is hard to think of others when you have a scared, developing brain focused on trying to keep yourself in one piece.
At Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, we help children develop their full range of emotional responses.
Last week, our Wellness Coordinators brought in an accessible sports organization as part of that work. They brought special athletic wheelchairs and huge blow-up balls. The coordinators explained to the kids and staff how each of the chairs was designed for particular needs, and why the balls were big and light. Then, staff and children played adapted wheelchair soccer with two blow-up balls going at one time.
It was loud and raucous and there was lots of laughter. There was also a great deal of sweating and catching of breath, and running into the safety mats covering the walls.
“That was a lot harder than just playing soccer. How do they do it?” was a sentiment shared by more than one child… and adult.
It was great to see that, for that moment, these kids had a different perspective than their own. Maybe they didn’t walk in another’s moccasins, but they did sit in their chairs.
It’s a start.
Please keep the children and families of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in your prayers.
In His love,
Joy Ryan, President/CEO
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch
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