A Face in the Crowd

I wander this world, surrounded by the vague outlines of my fellow souls...

The loneliness only sets in when I find myself in a crowd. At peace with myself, why do I find so many of those around me distant and cold? Why do we close ourselves from each other? Why are we so reluctant to extend the hand? What is it that we fear?

The more closely people live with each other, the less they care for one another and the easier they find it to hurt each other. I'm not sure why this is. It's not just the overt hate and selfishness...I am more distressed by the general apathy. The ability to watch our brothers and sisters in pain and to be unaffected by it. More people don't bring more love...I have been blessed with good friends, but I don't hold out too much hope to the mass of humanity. We are anything but humane to each other. I'll try not to be part of the problem, to always give my fellows a break and a hand when I can, but I look at the eyes of so many that I pass on the street and I see nothing...no soul...no hope...no humanity.

I have found that this is even more true of the religious people that I know. It seems that they become colder and less loving. They feel that they know what God wants and are perfectly content to abuse and ignore any who disagree with their special understanding... God is that spark of truth and love that lives deep within you. If you don't share this spark with others then it will die. It is the death of this spark that I see in so many faces. The spark dies long before we do and we walk this earth with nothing to share.

This may sound trite, but do yourself a favor...do somethig nice for someone you don't know... extra credit if you do it for someone you don't really like much.

Best! Norm.