Have you ever been in a situation where you feel invisible? I have, too. It feels really strange to be with people and have them ignore you or at least pay very little attention to you. I had this happen recently and had two reactions.
On the one hand, being invisible is great because there is no pressure to talk or engage in topics that really don’t hold much interest for you. On the other hand, it feels bad because you feel like you don’t matter. I wrestled with it a bit and then decided it’s also an opportunity to set my ego aside and just pay attention to other people and listen to them. For me, it was a chance to learn more about the people who were present and that was a nice benefit.
I’ve had this happened to me in church settings, too. People who know one another tend to gather and chat and visit. People new to the church are sought out by those who are assigned to be sure new folks are comfortable. People who just attend once in awhile are in some sort of middle category and are left to their own devices.
All of this shows me how important it is to be aware of who’s around you no matter what setting you’re in and reach out to those who seem to be ignored. We don’t have to intrude on one another’s privacy and sometimes people want to be left alone. But I think it’s important to acknowledge people and let them know they are important to you. Maybe you’ll make a new friend!
No comments:
Post a Comment