I have been reading this book called Windows of the Soul by Ken Gire. It's one of those books you keep going back to and rereading every so often. The passage below is a section of the book I find myself being drawn to, over and over again.
"Windows of the soul is a way of seeing that begins with respect. The way we show respect is to give it a second look, a look not of the eyes but of the heart. But so often we don't give something a second look because we don't think there is something there to see.
To respect something is to understand that there is something there to see, that it is not all surface, that something lies beneath the surface, something that has the power to change the way we think or feel, something that may prove so profound a revelation as to change not only how we look at our lives but how we live them.
Jesus lived His life that way, seeing beyond the pictures of the widow at Nain and the woman at the well, of the tax collector in the tree and the thief on the cross, of the rich man and Lazarus.
He was constantly looking beyond the two dimensions of the full-sized portraits framed before him. Beyond the widow's tears for the dead son Jesus saw how much she needed that son to fill the hole left by her deceased husband. Beyond the Samaritan woman's veil, He saw the five marriages that had failed, and beyond that, the emptiness in her life that grew bigger with each divorce. Beyond the power and wealth of Zacchaeus, He saw a small man with a big hole in his heart that all the power and wealth in the world couldn't fill. Beyond the sores of Lazarus, He saw a soul of eternal worth. Beyond the clothes of the rich man, He saw a soul in rags."
Windows of the Soul
Ken Gire
While reading this passage of the book I was reminded of a time when I was in San Francisco, California for a seminar. It was such a beautiful day I decided to walk down to the wharf for lunch so I could enjoy my lunch while watching all the sail boats go by. It was a picture perfect day. As I was sitting at a table in full enjoyment of the fresh air, the blue sky and the white sail boats, I noticed an elderly lady looking for a place to sit down. She was all dressed up in her Sunday best, with hat, jewelry, a purse on her arm and alone. I have to say at first I thought of myself. I wanted to enjoy my view and I knew if I invited her to my table I could not let her sit there and go unnoticed, so my sail boat watching would be interrupted. But something tugged at my soul, so I invited her to my table. For the next hour I listened to her tell the story of her life. She was such a delightful lady who had such a rich history, and I would have missed out on her story if I had not taken a second glance at an elderly lady looking for a table to sit at or if I felt inviting her to my table would interfere with my sail boat watching. I think she enjoyed the conversation as much as I did. Her husband had died a couple of years ago and she now lived alone. Maybe she was looking for someone to listen to her, someone to talk to so she did not have to spend another meal alone, or someone to tell her story to. At 84 years old she was still involved in her community; she had a love for San Francisco and wanted to preserve its culture. She made an impact on me that day. The way she lived her life reminded me that we all have an opportunity to leave an impact on our communities that will go beyond our life time, and that we can choose how we spend our life - for ourselves or for the good of all. We can live our lives looking inward to self - or we can take notice of what is around us and look with our heart and as Ken Gire says "to give something a second look."
So often our society ignores the elder, the poor, the homeless, or the troubled soul. We judge, we don't want to see it, or be bothered with it. We don't know how to deal with it, it's uncomfortable. We want our life to be easy and uncomplicated; yet as Ken Gire's passage reminds us there is something there to see, to learn from and change how we live our life - if we dare take a second look.
Written by Patty B.
1 comment:
This sounds like it was a great opportunity for you, Patty.
While you gave the old woman a chance to share stories she had, you also had an opportunity to hear these stories that happened before you were born and were rich with her experiences. Chances like these present themselves on a daily basis if we keep in tune for them. They often do not have to take an hour of our time. (For instance a short conversation with someone when we are in line at the post office or the grocery store.) They can be with others or alone when we chose to take a second look around at something and just think about it to ourselves. Writing is another way to take a second look at things. I often find as I write that I write down things that I was not even aware were my thoughts on the topic. This is great food for thought. I am going to try to remember to do this often.
Thanks and God bless.
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