Pico and Lauryn trekked deep into the forest, swatting at mosquitoes the size of baseballs as they went. Every few minutes they’d freeze in their tracks as another low growl shook the trees around them. And every time, those growls grew a wee bit louder … and a wee bit angrier.
“Are you sure we should be moving towards this thing?” asked Lauryn.
Pico studied his map and frowned. “It looks like it’s the only path to the bridge across Craggleheart Canyon,” he said.
Lauryn wasn’t the only one questioning their decision to head toward the noise. Every grumbly growl was followed by a mini stampede of forest creatures fleeing in the opposite direction — creatures that gave them all sorts of strange looks.
“You’re headed the wrong way!” shouted one of them as it ran by.
“Where are you going?” demanded another that stopped to catch its breath.
“I’m trying to get home,” Lauryn explained. “What are you running from?”
The forest trembled again as if on cue, causing the creature to jump in the air. “It’s the Festerfall Sasquatch!” it said. “He’s pure evil and out to destroy us all! Run away! Run awaaaaaaaaay!” The creature followed its own advice, resuming its sprint toward the beach of Lake Tumbles.
If Captain Codger was still there, Lauryn wondered if he’d have room in his boat for all the fleeing critters. “Should we turn back?” Pico asked, his voice trembling.
“If you must,” Lauryn replied (more bravely than she felt). “But I’m going to keep going. I really want to get home.”
Pico took a deep breath and picked up his suitcase. “Then I’m going too.”
Before long, the growls of the Festerfall Sasquatch grew to proper roars, and the ground itself shook at their feet. But despite feeling very scared, Lauryn pressed on. And creeping through the trees, they arrived at the edge of a large clearing.
There within it stood the great and terrible Festerfall Sasquatch, bellowing with all its might. It was truly a horrifying spectacle. Worse still, there appeared to be no way to sneak past the beast without being spotted.
“Got any ideas?” Lauryn whispered to Pico as they watched the monster stomp furiously around the clearing.
“Let me see, let me see,” Pico muttered, rummaging through his suitcase. “There’s this? And maybe this? Or that?” Soon a small pile had formed next to them. Clubs and axes. Swords and spears. Bows and arrows.
Lauryn frowned. The sasquatch was fearsome indeed. But she didn’t want to hurt it. That’s when she spotted something else from the suitcase, half-buried by a shiny shield. “What’s that?” she asked.
Pico pulled free the item and held it up. “Ah, yes! These are de-boggle goggles,” he explained. “They have the power to make your eyes ten times bigger than normal, allowing you to peel back lies or confusion or deception and see the truth of any situation. But I’m not sure what good they’ll do us here.”
Lauryn gave that some thought as the sasquatch let out another bellow. It was an awful bellow to be sure. But under all that rage, it almost sounded … sad. “Can’t hurt to try!” she said with a shrug.
Pulling on the de-boggle goggles, Little Lauryn Lollipop felt her eyeballs bulge and expand. And in the blink of those bulging, expanded eyes, the forest transformed before her.
Suddenly, she could see exactly how many rings the cedar tree next to Pico had, telling her it was precisely seventy-eight years, four months and twenty-three days old. Looking at the ground at her feet, Lauryn could immediately determine how much iron, carbon and magnesium was in the soil. And a quick glance at a squirrel hiding behind a nearby rock revealed the animal’s age, how many brothers and sisters it had and how many acorns it had stashed away for winter.
Next, Little Lauryn Lollipop turned her goggled gaze to the raging Festerfall Sasquatch and was flooded with all sorts of information. For starters, his name wasn’t Festerfall Sasquatch. It was Clyde. He was also a big fan of knitting, hated mushrooms and once got a rock stuck up his nose for three days.
But most importantly for the matter at hand, Lauryn discovered that Clyde didn’t want to mash up all the forest creatures and toss them in a stew. (In fact, he was a vegetarian.) No, Clyde simply had a stomach ache. And the worse it got, the angrier his growls and grumbles got, and the more ferocious his stomps became.
That gave Lauryn an idea. Whenever she or her brothers got a stomach ache, Papa Lollipop would make them a steaming pot of wild walnut soup. Lauryn could recite every ingredient from memory. But where could she find them all?
Silly question, it turned out, for somebody wearing de-boggle goggles. A quick scan of the forest around them identified the whereabouts of every bit of wild walnut, hogsroot, dizzywort and blusterberry they’d need. (For obvious reasons, she left out the mushrooms.)
With Pico’s help, Little Lauryn Lollipop gathered up the ingredients, lit a small fire and cooked up a batch of soup. “Are you sure about this?” Pico asked Lauryn, as she ladled the steaming liquid into a large, sasquatch-sized bowl from the suitcase.
She sure hoped so. Clyde’s angry bellows had reached a new pitch — a clear sign his stomach ache was getting worse. Stepping slowly from the edge of the clearing, Lauryn walked toward the yelping yeti and placed the bowl near his feet.
Clyde ROARED at Lauryn, nearly blowing her out of her boots. But she stood her ground. And soon enough, Clyde stopped stomping and noticed the delicious-smelling soup in front of him.
He picked up the bowl and eyed it suspiciously. After a couple of sniffs, he slowly brought it to his mouth and took a sip … and then another.
Thanks to the de-boggle goggles, Lauryn could tell that Clyde liked it, and that the monster’s monstrous stomach ache was already improving. With a smile, Clyde had a seat in the dirt, shaking the ground as he plopped himself down.
Once the cloud of dust cleared, Pico emerged from the woods with two more bowls, and together, the three of them enjoyed Papa Lollipop’s wonderful wild walnut soup.
They were having a lovely time. But Lauryn and Pico still had such a very long way to go. So once they had their fill, they waved goodbye to their new friend — leaving behind the de-boggle goggles so Clyde could find ingredients whenever he needed another batch of soothing soup.
.
Ideas for your own journey!
Like the other creatures in Festerfall Forest, Pico and Lauryn could have run away from Clyde. But the de-boggle goggles helped them see what was really behind all his bellowing. They let Lauryn go below the surface, figure out why Clyde was acting the way he was and fix the problem with some wild walnut soup.
That’s the power of empathy and compassion. It helps you see through the eyes of others, allowing you to understand them and where they’re coming from. It creates space to get all of the facts so you can appreciate the bigger picture.
It’s easy to make snap judgments about people or situations. But odds are there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye. And by making an effort to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and taking the time to dig a bit deeper, you’ll start to see the world in new and kinder ways.
So the next time you’re faced with a difficult situation, resist the urge to make assumptions about what’s going on. Gather as many facts and perspectives as you can. Treat others gently, understanding that, like Clyde and his stomach ache, we’re all dealing with hidden challenges.
EMPATHY BOOSTERS
Most of us don’t have a pair of de-boggle goggles laying around. But there are many other ways to increase our empathy and compassion.
Be curious. Get in the habit of asking lots of questions and practising active listening. When you’re talking with somebody, put away your phone and give your full attention. Meanwhile, generic questions like “how are things going?” can often return dead-end answers like “good” or “fine.” So if you know your friend is wrestling with a particular problem, ask them about it specifically with questions like, “how are you feeling about the project that’s due next week?” Just remember that compassion also means respecting boundaries. And sometimes people won’t want to open up and share their feelings.
Expand your horizons. Don’t assume you have all the facts about a topic. Do your research to get more information. Read books and articles written by authors who offer unique perspectives. Broaden your social media bubble by following a diverse mix of people whose realities are different from yours.
Share stories. Our past experiences shape who we are and how we behave today. So get to know friends and family members better by asking about their personal histories. What was life like when they were kids? What was the best piece of advice they ever received? What misadventures did they have growing up?
Seek out firsthand experiences. Reading statistics about an issue is great. But volunteering at a hospital, food bank, animal shelter or other cause-based organization can give you a much deeper appreciation of things.
Change your defaults. Instead of automatically assuming the person who snapped at you is just a jerk, remind yourself that there’s more happening in his life than you know. Maybe he’s got a stomach ache like Clyde. Maybe his cat just ran away. That doesn’t mean letting people treat you badly. It just means working on giving others the benefit of the doubt and not jumping to conclusions, recognizing that there’s usually more going on below the surface.
Show kindness. Don’t stop at feeling empathy. Show it — like how Lauryn and Pico made Clyde soup after learning about his belly ache. For example, you could help your elderly neighbour shovel his driveway in the winter. Or offer to do the dishes to give your sister more time to study for her exam. Or pick up litter on your weekend hike so animals don’t eat it and get sick. Small acts of kindness go a long way.
NEXT: CHAPTER 5 – JUNKYARD HOLLOW
PREVIOUS: CHAPTER 3 – LAKE TUMBLES
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