Recently a very dear friend of mine shared an inspiring story of Jim Thorpe who represented the U.S. in track and field at the 1912 Olympics. On the morning of his event he found his shoes had been stolen. Fortunately he found two different shoes in the garbage can, one of them being big for him such that he needed to wear extra socks. He won two gold medals that day.

Like Jim, we too sometimes find that our shoes have been taken away. It could be health, finances, opportunities, relationships, being treated unfairly or a support we were banking on no longer available. And Jim’s story has much for us to learn from.

When the purpose and goal is large enough in us, we find a way to move ahead. No matter what the setback, we never stop running.

Our challenges make us creative and adaptable. Rather than dwelling on our setback, we explore options. We don’t look for excuses, we look for solutions.

It wasn’t the shoes, but his training and preparedness that got him his medals. Sometimes we are over dependent on our support system, not realising that if we have developed our own abilities, a minor setback cannot cause a downfall. 

Different people in life wear different shoes and from the outside we may never know what someone is going through in life. It’s when we learn to walk a mile in another man’s shoes, not only do we develop compassion and understanding for the other but also gratitude for what’s in place. 

And whenever I find myself losing my sense of gratitude and complaining about things not being in place, I get reminded of something I had read in school which puts life in perspective. ‘ I cried because I had no shoes, till I saw someone who had no feet.’