Do you like to have your picture taken? And do you always check the photo to make sure it is a satisfactory rendition of you?
I found it a curious phenomenon when we were playing with the poor children of Las Lomas (Ushpa Ushpa) Bolivia. When the children saw my camera they wanted me to take a picture of them. Some asked to look at the screen picture but most did not. They did not ask for a copy of the picture. It was sufficient to them that a picture was taken. My brother says he found the same response when he did street photography in the USA. Where you might expect to find resistance, hesitation, or suspicion, people instead demonstrated an eagerness to have their picture taken by a stranger they will probably never see again.
And I wondered, how many people of the world do not have a picture of themselves or of their loved ones? How many live, to use Thoreau’s phrase, lives of quiet desperation that go unnoticed, unwitnessed by others? How many go to the grave with an unsung song, a journey walked alone, a dream unrealized?
I think there is this drive to be noticed, to be acknowledged. Not in the sense of, “Look at me. I am so important.” But rather, it’s as if it isn’t enough to live a solitary life, and that we are wired to need a witness to our existence and the meaning of our journey.
I wonder how many people live in the shadows of our own journeys. How many unassumingly blend into the background of our day and are so easily missed by those who pass by? At the grocery store, at church, those whose paths we meet on the sidewalk or in the halls of commerce?
What does it take to witness the journey of another? Affirming others often begins with a smile, a simple, “How’s your day going?,” or a brief compliment.
Make today count. Show others the love of God who sees them where they are. (He sees you where you are too!) Live a life that acknowledges the value of others.
It is sad to see what people will do to get their picture taken these days (Selfies, instagram, twitter, Facebook etc.). Today, people want to be noticed, absolutely, instantly. People will sometimes do amazing things to get their 5 minutes of fame. I try and stay away from that as much as I can, we need to remember “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” James 3:16-17.