IF I WERE KING

  Once upon a time in the early 1990’s I was an Environmental Issues Resource Teacher, responsible for planning and implementing hands-on instruction for middle school environmental field trips. One of our 7th grade teachers was really good with his kids, he could turn the tables on provocative questions about why we did things a certain way or why the rules called for things they didn’t like. His best line was predictable enough and I’m sure his students could feel it coming. He would reply, “If I were King of the world I would . . .” and offer a (sometimes magical) fair minded solution to both satisfy the student and meet the spirit of the rule. It worked like a detour for road construction, a minor inconvenience but in the end you get there. That was so long ago but still, when I face a troublesome inconvenience, his wonderfully disarming disclaimer comes to mind: If I were King of the world I would . . .
I would make a rule; when you have a disagreement or disappointment with another person you sit down together and trade shoes. They put your shoes on their feet and you theirs. Then you go for a walk together and talk together. This collective effort must continue for a sufficient time or distance, whichever meets the need. So you walk at least a mile together in the other’s shoes. You can repeat the walk as many times as you like. Obviously, (In their shoes) is a metaphor for stepping back, letting go of one’s own opinion to see through new eyes. It may not be a cure but certainly, it will cast new light on the situation and that would be a new beginning. That's what I would do If I were King.