𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: “Echoes in Their Footsteps” by Chrissa Jean Salvador

Published by Reiven Presbetero

Date Published: August 15, 2025

Time Published: 8:40

Category: Prose

Theme: Practicing empathy by trying to understand someone else’s perspective before judging them.

It’s funny, sometimes we just don’t get it. We see someone struggling or acting a certain way and we quickly think, “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?” or “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘪𝘵!”

But imagine that you could actually step into their life. Not just for a second, but really live it. Feel what they feel, see what they see, and deal with all the things they have to deal with.

Maybe they’re tired, so tired they can barely lift their heads. Maybe they’re worried about money, their kids, or a sick parent. Maybe someone was harsh to them right before you saw them. Maybe they have a secret pain that no one knows about.

They might feel a shame, like they’re never good enough, no matter how hard they try. Maybe they wake up each day with a sick feeling in their stomach, afraid of a future they can't seem to control with a voice in their head that whispers, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯? 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦.”

Perhaps they feel lonely, even when they are with other people. They might be fighting a battle in their own head with a voice that says, “𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.”

Maybe they are still hurting from old wounds, pains from a long time ago that still feel fresh. Their heart might be sad from a loss no one else knows about, and they might spend the day holding back tears, telling themselves, “𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦.”

Their smile might be a fake one, hiding a deep tiredness that weighs them down every night. When asked how they are, they force out the words, “𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦,” even though they are just trying to hold on and hope for a little bit of peace.

When you really try to imagine all that, it changes things. That quick judgment starts to fade away. You begin to understand that maybe their path isn’t as clear as yours or their load is much heavier.

It’s like putting on their ‘shoes’. Suddenly, you feel the same road, you can feel the sharp stones they’ve been walking over. You realize their journey is different and what seems simple from your side might be incredibly hard from theirs.

And when you understand that, it’s easier to be kind. It’s easier to offer help or just a little bit of patience. Because deep down, we’re all just trying to make it through and sometimes, all we need is someone to see our struggles, even if they can’t fix them.