Human
Interaction
“Every
human interaction offers you the chance to make things better or to
make things worse.”
Barbara
Brown Taylor (An Altar in the World)
As
a born-again hermit, I like to look at my calendar and see blank
days. I know how out of step with the world that is, and honestly, I
don't even care. But I do have weeks, and this is one of them, when
every single day involves human interaction. I have to gear up for
it, get my head-space right, gird my loins. You'd think I was Daniel
going into the lion's den. I know it's silly, and I'm not in the
least agoraphobic, I just like to have uninterrupted time to do
whatever comes to mind. It's purely selfish, if you want to know the
truth.
For
most of us, human interaction is fun and light and, well, sociable.
We chit-chat about things that mean absolutely nothing. We can spend
whole days without a single serious sentence coming out of our
mouths. Guys caucus about sports teams and work, gals about shopping
and gossip, who won the Oscar or the Emmy, or whatever celebrity is
in the news. I don't know about other places in the wide world. I'd
like to think that somewhere people are actually discussing things
that matter.
What
I do know is that in the course of any encounter with another human
being, we can either be a source for light or one for darkness. I'm
not suggesting that we go about spouting religious nonsense like,
“Have a blessed day,” or “I'll pray for you,” but actually
listening to someone and hearing what lies behind the words they are
saying. Paying full attention, making eye contact, sharing a genuine
smile, offering a word of encouragement, contributing a personal story—these are nutritious foods
in a world of “cotton candy” communication.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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