Pray, do not find fault with the person
Who limps or stumbles along the road
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load

Don't sneer at the person who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused him to stumble and fall
And felt the shame only the fallen know

Don't be harsh with the person who sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure, yes, doubly sure
That you have no sins of your own.

One day, I decided to become someone else. I wanted to experience what it feels like not to be
yourself, not to be healthy and normal. I decided to emulate a day in the life of a mute person.
It started out okay. My friends sighed with relief because they did not have to listen to me. My teachers were quite happy because I wasn't constantly interrupting them with questions.
I could only mime to show my friend that I loved her new shoes. Then I went shopping. That promised to be a fun experience.
I went to a couple of stores and tried to browse through their items. Now in India, in small shops, the over-zealous salesmen are always pestering you to buy something or the other. This is normal. This particular salesman had prepared an entire speech which he blasted onto my face. I pointed to a pair of earrings and made some kind of weird gurgling sound.
Realization struck and he understood that I couldn't speak. I saw a little pity in his eyes but I also saw a bit of the enthusiasm diminish. He yelled out the price thinking I was deaf too. I covered my ears and again made some noises, then pointed to a garment. This time he mimed the price realllllly slowly. Seeing that I wasn't interested in actually buying anything and the whole miming process was a tad too tedious, he quickly lost interest and turned away eyeing a bountiful lady.
At the next shop the lady was a bit too sympathetic. She bombarded me with sad looks all the while making clucking sounds with her tongue. All her sentences were punctuated by "You poor dear". I found this pity laden one-sided conversation very patronizing, so I left.
The next man was utterly rude. The moment he realized that I couldn't speak, which was precisely after 3 seconds, he abruptly turned away from me. His sweet charming demeanor was replaced by a disgusted look as if he had wasted his precious dialogues on someone who couldn't respond and didn't want to waste a second more. I tugged at his shirt and he turned back with an exasperated grunt and literally tried to shoo me away as if I were a mongrel. I began to actually feel the pinch.
So you can well imagine his surprise when I said "Stupid old man" on his face.

This was supposed to be a prank but it turned out to be a lesson. The indifferent salesman, the over-sympathetic lady, the annoyed (and visibly stunned) shop keeper...they showed me just how much we take our health, our abilities, our blessings for granted. And how blind (or deaf) we are to others who aren't as blessed.
I felt what it was like to be different and I saw what it meant to be different.

The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being able to talk back.