Hey, you! Yes, YOU!

 

i see you!

 

Is that maybe not everything we want to hear and know?

That i am seen. That someone acknowledges my existence and my presence.

That someone knows my name.

That i count.

i matter.

 

DO YOU SEE?

 

Think back over this week…

What was the name of the car guard you tipped with a R2 you found in the corner of your purse?

The lady who checked your supermarket purchases. She was wearing a name badge. Did you lean forward and read it? Did you say it out loud? Did you smile at her and ask her how her day was going?

The man you refused to help at the traffic light. Did you ask his name? Did you look him in the eyes when you spoke to him? Or did you turn your face away and not even bother to make eye contact at all. He didn’t exist to you.

The older man who filled your car with petrol? He had the name ‘Lucky’ on his name badge but did you ask him if he had another African name? And what it meant? Did he get your basic stuttered ‘Molo bhuti. Kunjani?’ so he could at least hear a few words in his own language?

 

CHOOSE TO SEE

 

It has been said, ‘You don’t need eyes to see, you need vision.’

But i want to encourage you to use your eyes. And your ears. And your mouth.

You’re struggling to make sense of the situation in the country you are in? Welcome to the club – there is much work to be done – BUT i promise you it will only get better and easier and more likelier if you start seeing, really SEEing people.

Acknowledging that they exist.

Engaging with them.

Letting them know they are loved and important and cared for and appreciated.

Say “Thank-you!” and maybe turn your R2 into a R50 – at least one time this coming week, or R100 if you can do that. Make someone’s day.

Ask about someone’s children. Greet a neighbour. Bake something and share it with someone you don’t know all that well.

Take time to see.

i am convinced it will have some strong bearing on changing the world.

 

[and come back here after a week and let me know what changed for you!]