One day he came up to me and said, with a sad and disgusted look, "I am in Bisible."
Where the heck was Bisible? It took me a minute to figure out what he meant, but it stopped me in my tracks when I realized that he meant, "I am invisible." Why would this sweet funny kid say such a thing?
Because when he filled water glasses at the tables, no one looked at him. When he cleared away the used plates, no one looked at him. When he smiled and said hello, and went above and beyond his job, NO ONE looked at him.
How many people do we meet in a day who are, to us, invisible? How many times have we, ourselves, felt invisible? Probably pretty often.
You know what? I'm gonna start looking people in the eye --- the cashier, the video store clerk, the guy at the bus stop. I'm gonna stop being too rushed and self-important, and I'm going to risk making that connection. I'm gonna start trying to really see.
I am an invisible man...I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids --- and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.
--- Ralph Ellison
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. --- Hebrews xiii. 2.
3 comments:
I ALWAYS try to do this. I HATE it when people ignore someone providing them with a service.
Someone fills my water glass, I'm going to smile and say, "Thank you."
I even flirted with the guy at the fish counter today. Poor guy smells like fish. But he's always nice and chatty with me. And I think he always gives me the best piece of fish.
Yea! We're starting a movement!
By the way--there was an episode of Buffy about a girl who people ignored so much that she thought herself invisible. Then she became invisible. It's all very metaphorical on how people treat others.
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