Most of us if not all of us, at some point, have become invisible to the people around us. Even for those who have lived a “celebrity-esque” life constantly the center of attention, chances are high that as they age, they will, sooner or later, experience invisibility. Now clearly, aging is not the only thing that makes a person invisible as many people are painfully aware. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on and on. And invisibility also comes and goes depending on what you are doing, where you are, who you are with, how you are dressed, what you say and that list too, goes on and on and on. Traditionally considered a superpower only possessed by superheroes, invisibility is actually complex, dynamic, shifting …and is it really a power or just a pain?
A single example. Let’s look at the invisible world of the service provider.
If you are in service, as long as you do everything perfect, you are invisible. As soon as you make the slightest mistake, you will be seen. So, of course it’s very simple for people in these capacities to remain invisible and safe from rebuff because all they must do is be perfect. At all times. Power or pain?
Now if you want to be seen you can devise any kind of mess up you want. The degree of mess up you employ will determine the degree with which you are seen. But if the mess up is too big, the visibility will be very brief. Lasting only until the door slams on your ass. In which case not only will you be invisible again, you will also be completely forgotten. Power or pain?
Also, one might think that if there was a smell associated with an invisible person, good or bad, they would be seen. But no. The smell only makes the unseeing person think about what is causing the smell and how to prolong or remove it. What if you were holding fresh baked bread laced with bacon…. Would you be seen? And it’s very iffy. The bread and bacon would be seen no doubt, but the person holding it…probably not. However, if you want to guarantee visibility via smell, make it stink. Have some really stinky cheese or a natural gas episode and everyone will be looking to see who is responsible for the stink and more importantly how to hold them accountable to remove the stink. Trust me, stink up a room and everyone will see you. They may even remember you. Power or pain?
Another factor that contributes to invisibility issues is blindness. People can be right there in plain sight. They aren’t invisible at all. Yet everyone around them is blinded by fear, ignorance, prejudice, stupidity, entitlement to name just a few causes. (Sadly, this is another one of those lists that goes on and on and on.) Power or pain?
For me the obvious question becomes: is there any way for a person to learn to see? I used to think there was a way but now I realize I don’t know. Some people just have “sight” and others never see. Some people choose blindness. Some of us start to see more clearly when we experience invisibility. However, to truly see, I believe you have to want to see. There’s the rub. Power or pain?
In my experience, the best advice I have to offer on curing blindness is as follows. If you really want to see what is before you, watch the dogs. Dogs see everything and everyone. They love equally. They have no bias. They don’t care what you look like, how old you are, what your job is, what your gender is, what your preference is… They just don’t care as long as you love them. Sometime, if a dog seems to be looking at nothing, try to see what she is looking at and perhaps you will start to see the invisible. Perhaps you will see those that have always been there. Maybe right in front of you. You just never saw them.