Switching Places

My meaningful moment this week was quite an eye-opener. One afternoon my younger sister and I randomly decided to “switch places“--we called each other our own name and tried to act as the other would. It was a fun little experiment, really. We weren‘t doing this to tease each other or poke fun. Being someone other than yourself for a while can actually be pretty fun, but also quite the challenge.

And that‘s exactly what made it meaningful--I had to put myself in my sister‘s shoes (quite literally) and consider how and why she does what she does. It struck me how much influence an older sibling can have. Once or twice that afternoon I tried to tell her something, but she brushed me off in the sake of being too busy. Oh my pickles. I did not realize how often I do that. How many opportunities for stronger relationships am I missing? Since that simple little game of ours, I‘ve paid more attention to how what I do can affect others. Putting myself in another‘s shoes can be a real paradigm-shifter.