I didn’t see you!
“I didn’t see you!”
We may have said that when we bumped into someone unexpectedly, but today I’m going to ask you to really think about that statement.
Have you recently experienced the feeling of being ‘unseen’?
Many years ago an older friend of mine mentioned that once you are considered old, people stop talking to you. She said, “They talk around you. Doctors talk to your family as if you are not even present and an adult.” I must admit until she mentioned it I had not noticed, but after she shared her feelings, I started to observe, and I had to acknowledge in many situations that was indeed happening.
Something I have also noticed is more and more people of all ages are making statements about not feeling ‘seen’. If you watch social interactions it becomes apparent we are not seeing each other. We greet, we ask questions, we share information, we move on. We could have been interacting with a kiosk.
What has to happen to make a person feel they have been seen, acknowledged, and valued? Sincere interest!
Yesterday I attended a meeting and the speaker spoke so fast, I couldn’t observe him taking a breath His speaking pace was not only amazing but it came a close second to those last 20 seconds of a pharmaceutical commercial on television. His presentation lasted a full forty-five minutes. I’m rather sure, no one attending that meeting felt valued. They were part of a commodity, but they were not valued.
Children may say “no one cares.” Does that mean no one cares or they feel like no one cares? Older people say, “Everybody is busy, they don’t have time to visit.”
Store clerks and service people say “I’m sorry but we are short of help today.” While they carry on a multitude of tasks at the same time. Parents juggle car seats, baby equipment, and baby while talking on cell phones. People sit in restaurants sending texts and playing games ignoring the people they made arrangements to share time with.
It’s very true we don’t see each other or we would feel seen.
In several places, Matthew 13:14-38, Psalms 135:16, Mark 8:18, Isaiah 43:8 The Bible says, “They have eyes but they do not see.”
Lets start changing that! Let’s start taking time for people— because we value each other and and we want all people to feel seen. Acknowledging another person is contagious once you start, you will notice other people pausing to acknowledge people.
Some may say “I don’t feel seen,” but make sure it is not someone that occupied a moment or two in your day.
Very timely and so true. Let`s all try harder to welcome people into our lives.
This is so true. I really appreciate you bringing this plight to our attention. It doesn’t take any more minutes to notice and engage with someone as it does to ignore them and use that same amount of time for video games, texts, or other venues that take us away from what really matters. Thank you for writing so well.
This is so true. I really appreciate you bringing this plight to our attention. It doesn’t take any more minutes to notice and engage with someone as it does to ignore them and use that same amount of time for video games, texts, or other venues that take us away from what really matters. Thank you for writing so well.