Pushing a wheelchair down a long hallway teaches you to slow down for someone else’s pace.

Walking beside someone whose pace is not yours changes what you notice: how long a hallway actually is, which doors are heavy, how much of a building assumes one kind of body. The lesson is not about being generous. It is about finding out that your usual speed was a setting rather than a standard.

This week, go somewhere at a pace that is not yours and pay attention to the route instead of the clock. Notice what makes the trip harder than it needs to be, and mention it to whoever could change it. Matching a pace costs you little and changes the conversation you get to have.