Start Seeing

This morning, sitting at a stoplight, I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me: "Start Seeing Motorcycles." I've seen variants of these bumper stickers before and, while I understand the message, the wording has always puzzled me. See motorcycles. They're not invisible. Of course we see them. But the message really is that we need to go a step beyond seeing them. We need to SEE them. As in, PROCESS the seeing of them to that next step of being aware of how we need to drive differently when one in in front of or next to us. It's not just knowing when a motorcycle is there; it's thinking about what that motorcyclist needs from us as sharers of the road.

Could it be that we also need to start seeing -- really seeing -- the people who are around us in our daily lives? I think about my husband. I see him daily when neither of us is traveling, and I talk with him almost every day when either of us is on the road. I know, in general, what he has going on at work. I know what nights he has church meetings or plays basketball. I know what TV shows he likes, because, at the end of the day when the house is quiet, we cozy down to the family room couch and watch them together. We share life. And yet, do I truly "see" him? Do I see when he needs a little extra encouragement? Do I see when he accomplishes something, and compliment him on it? Do I see when he has made great strides in an area of personal growth, and acknowledge that? And then I think about the others with whom I share life's path... children, friends, parents, coworkers... I see them, but do I SEE them?