Walk in My Shoes

If you look at my shoes, you'll know who I was. 

Worn, black heels sit unattended in my closet.  When I slip them on, I breathe a deep breath, close my eyes and smile.  I am transported.  In those little shoes, I stood tall and walked confidently.  Almost a life time ago, those shoes and I climbed to the pinnacle of my career.  They heard the news the day I was flicked off the pinnacle, as though I were an insignificant insect... "We have to let you go."

Identical red and silver heels wait patiently to be worn again. Once the life of the party, we danced the night away.  It used to be that I could walk into a room in those heels...my slender legs lengthened by the height of the heel and issuing confidence...my head held high, a smile on my face and we commanded that room with the ease and grace of royalty.


If you look at my shoes, you'll know who I am.


I exchanged those empowering black heels for practical flats after that day, almost nine months ago.  I have walked an eternity of sad and lonely steps in those shoes.  As friends slipped silently away, they protected my feet, but not my heart.  Tears have touched the soles of those shoes, as sadness has enveloped my soul.

To pound out the frustration and fear of the uncertain, I lace up my running shoes.  Mile after mile, letting anger sweat out of my mind and my body.   I'm running away from my insecurities, my lack of confidence and towards a hopeful and bright future.

If you look at my shoes, you'll know who I will be.

Another pair is quietly speaking to me.  Black, strappy wedges, from my days in Brazil.  Those shoes walked me to the prisons where I did research.  I close my eyes, sigh, and remember my future.  My potential stares me in the face and I look at those shoes.  Everything I have done in those shoes reminds me of my strength, determination and tenacity. 

There is a pair of shoes, not yet in my closet.  I imagine them to be small, green leather flats, like a pair I saw recently.  They reflect my sweetness in their design, my strength in the leather they are made of, and my happiness in their colour.  I close my eyes and let my breath escape from my lips as I imagine them on my feet.  I am transported.  Contentedly, I will begin my journey of a thousand miles with a single step, in those shoes.