I do not like to have to make decisions on shopping items. It overwhelms me, gives me too many choices, makes me want to buy things that I don't need (or even like). I feel like my brain shuts off and I get sucked into the vortex of the store. That also means I don't 'see' people. I can walk right by you and I am so focused on the list that I don't see you. I don't mean to be mean or disrespectful. My senses feel like they are in an alternate universe. I am sorry about that.

Our whole community has become like that, we walk around like zombies not seeing each other, not acknowledging our humanity. We no longer see each other, no longer recognize our deep connectedness. We have never been good at making eye contact with people on the margins, because we don’t know how to handle the homeless at the streetcorner, or the senior shuffling by. We don't want to provoke the youth by 'seeing' them, and so we just keep our head down. We see it in the restaurants when people sit there each looking at their devices, not even noticing the wonderfully prepared meal that a waiter is serving. Often people avoid conversations now just afraid of confrontation.

What if we 'see' each other? What if I would make eye contact with the homeless and wish him a good day. What if I smiled at the senior and complimented her on her dress? What if I see the exhausted teacher and brought a single orange? What if I learned the name of the clerk that serves me or the mailman?

Henry David Thoreau in his famous book "Walden" said "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation." Let's change that! Let's start seeing each other, enjoying each other, and being aware of the gifts, passions, and dreams of people who we encounter. Solomon, an ancient wise man from the Bible talks about a 'hole in our hearts', I think we all long for relationships, with ourselves, with others and with a God that is bigger than us. When we start to see the wonder of another person, and recognize that they are created in the image of God, then our own soul can find a glimpse of our own humanness and our need for a God who can fill that hole.

When relationships are restored, we can learn to see again, and don't have to walk around like zombies.