We are busy. By “we” I mean our country, and by “busy” I mean living at a frantic, breakneck pace that keeps us in constant contact with those around us without the time to develop any of the relationships we brush up against. We’re Facebook friend rich, and real-life friend poor. Sorry, Barry (that’s Manilow – go Google him), we’re no longer ships that pass in the night. Today, we’re on jet skis and we’re flying past each other 24/7.
Like I said, we’re busy.
I think it’s the kind of thing that we all recognize, but wonder if there’s anything that can be done about it. We lay our heads on our collective pillows at night and swear that we’ll do a better job of investing in the people we care about the next day, only to find ourselves 24 hours removed from that commitment, making it all over again.
Somewhere, someone is reading this and saying, “Enough.” Maybe it’s you. Perhaps you can relate to what Jesus meant when He said that some people are “ever seeing but never perceiving” in Mark 4, and you’re finally at the place where your prayer has changed from “help someone discover me” to “help me discover someone.”
Our culture has mastered the art of seeing. Think about all that you see in just one day: people, traffic, shows, nature, anywhere from 250-3000 ads (there are some crazy numbers out there in Google-land). We are a consumption-driven culture, and we’re junkies for seeing. So while we gorge ourselves on seeing, we starve ourselves on perceiving.
I challenge you to look around. Don’t scan your surroundings like you would scan a book while listening to the news and nodding as your friend tells you about her day. That’s not multi-tasking; that’s multi-masking. That’s seeing without perceiving, and that masks the real needs in others that you have been perfectly placed and equipped to meet.
Today, make it a point to see less, and perceive more. Really take the time to process what happens right in front of you. You may be surprised what you learn about the people you keep bumping into, and how much joy and fulfillment you get from discovering and meeting their needs.
