Invisible
in•vis•i•ble adj (ˌ)in-ˈvi-zə-bəl a : incapable by nature of being seen b : inaccessible to view : hidden, imperceptible, inconspicuous
Who here amongst us has not felt invisible at one time or another in our lives? As a child, did you ever feel like what you had to say went unnoticed by adults? As a teenager, did you ever feel like members of the opposite sex didn’t know you were alive? As an adult, have you ever wished you were invisible when the boss was choosing people to work this weekend? Invisibility is basically the state of going unnoticed, for one reason or another and as I mentioned, this can sometimes be a welcome state but more often than not, it isn’t. Who really doesn’t want their points of view heard and validated? Who really doesn’t want to feel like they count or matter? I think I can safely venture to say, not many of us do.
Invisibility can occur in many ways. Some people are invisible because they are too young and are often dismissed because of their lack of experience, but the flipside of this coin is that sadly, the same treatment happens when you are too old, too. All too often the elderly are written off merely because they are deemed as no longer being a useful and productive member of society so therefore who needs to take the time to listen to what they have to say and contribute? I wonder just how many people realize the wealth of knowledge and the lifetime of experiences that can be shared and learned from those who have seen more life than we have? As for those younger than us, I wonder how many don’t appreciate the fresh points of view that can be given by those our junior simply because they haven’t seen as much life as we have and therefore might not view the world through eyes as jaded as our own might be.
Invisibility can also happen based on one’s appearance. Regardless of what side of beauty’s fence you stand on, either being attractive or maybe not so attractive, the one common bond that oddly ties the two sides together is the fact that quite often, whether you are either extreme, you can be invisible to the world, too. I have stood on both sides of this fence during different times of my life and can speak from experience. When you are not so attractive, all you wish for is to be noticed and to be beautiful. All you want is for someone to look up one day and take the time to acknowledge you in a positive light. All you want is for someone to take the time to see past your appearance and to see what’s inside of you but more times than not, this doesn’t happen and these wishes go unanswered. But once in awhile, fate DOES cut you a break and turns your inner beauty into an outer beauty that can be seen by the world. When this happens, you think things will be different but surprisingly, they’re not. Now you become invisible to the world in a different way. Now people notice you by your appearance, but they just can’t seem to see past it. So now even though you are being noticed by the world, in actuality you still aren’t……at least not the real YOU is being noticed, anyway.
So, what can we do about this? Can ANYTHING really be done about this? Yes, it can, but it has to start with each of us. If after a long and tiring day at work, your child comes to you all excited to tell you about some little thing in their life or show you something they made, take the time to look and listen to them, in spite of how tired you are. The next time your grandparents want to tell you about what they did to earn money during the Great Depression, stop and listen to them and you might just learn of a way you haven’t thought of to earn some money during these tough times right now. Make a date with the “Plain Jane” who saves you your favorite doughnut everyday at the office because she will appreciate you more than any of her more attractive counterparts ever will. Tell the one you love that you’ll love them no matter what they look like, even in 20 years when they have wrinkles, thinning hair and a few more pounds on them then they do right now……and mean it. It doesn’t take much to make someone feel like they matter……. if only more people just simply took the time to do it.
*2 1/2 Kudos*
I remember once a long time ago reading a blog on myspazz written by an older Lady in which she’d been at a restaurant with her mother. When the waiter was taking their orders he conspicuously ignored her mom, asking the daughter what she thought the mother would want to eat, as if the mother was someone who could not be trusted to even know what she wanted to order. The ladies mom endured this in humiliated, embarrassed, and furious silence.
I do not think that the waiter even realized what he was doing, because it seems to be a common attribute, as you’ve pointed out above, the “invisibility” of older folks.
That entry had a powerful effect upon me, as does yours. I never want to be in the shoes of that waiter if I can help it.
:love:
I hear you… from the other end of the spectrum. You mention that older people don’t listen to younger ones for a fresh point of view. LOL…you haven’t seen anything yet. Just wait until you are old. Not only are you invisible, but younger folks treat you like you have nothing of value to offer and you will be treated like you are stupid and never knew as much as the young do. Oh…not to mention that the elderly shouldn’t have any feelings. Well…no matter which end of the spectrum one may be, it is a universal feeling…to be invisible. Eventually, after being invisible for a while, it becomes easy to disappear all together. Yeah….it does. 😯 😕
Those few moments of full, focused, attention can change someone’s life. It’s happened for me in so many ways before. Thank you for writing this. It is so important, yet so overlooked. :love:
PS: 7 Hearts in 33 views as of 10:34 PM June 26. 4 of those views are mine. Just wanted to point that out, as it is very unusual. Don’t know if I’ve ever had that many hearts, within that number of views. 🙂
neglect is an awful thing.
it’s like a spreading social disease and almost always it’s rooted deep
was in a bus the other day and there was this old man talking to himself with a blank stare and all the people were staring at him as he was mad,then took the seat right in front of me and continued ..until a moment when he stoped and looked straight at me ,saying he just wants to be heard,that all his friends passed away and every day he takes the same bus from one end to the other and hopes someone would just talk to him. So I played along and found out all his youth he’s been that crazy wild type that never wanted to have a family and partied hoping he wouldn’t live that long,and life proved out to be ironic as always..
You can imagine how depressed I walked out that bus.
I came back to read with a rested brain. (was here late last night) In reading comments, I realize I didn’t heart you. Personally, I think the heart belongs at the bottom of the blog. Then, I think the + <3 would be utilized more often. :love:
I can certainly relate to your eloquent words.
As a small boy I wished so many times that I could disappear or just remain invisible so that the hurt and pain could not find me. In my teenage years the things I could not hide from caused me to turn away from others in my shame making my existence only a passing shadow. But with the passing of time and the knowledge of age I have learned that what happen was not because of something I had done or caused, I was just an easy target for all their hate because I could not fight back. Invisibilty… oh if I could have only disappeared even for just a little while.