“If only our eyes saw souls instead of bodies how different our ideals of beauty would be.” ~ Lauren Jauregui
One of the major problems, in my opinion, of living in a world that is steeped in sin and far from God is that we often view our daily lives through the lens of the world rather than through the eyes of the Lord. That is a consequence of original sin.
How often do we acknowledge the fact that when we encounter another person, we are encountering another soul? Seriously. Do we look at another and say, “What a nice soul!” I don’t think so. Instead, the things that we see are race, ethnicity, height, weight, eye color, hair color, the presence or absence of limbs, et cetera. Our list of looking at people’s physical attributes can be quite exhaustive. However, every time we concentrate on a physical attribute, we fail to see the spiritual within. We fail to see their soul.
I am no different from others in that regard. While I know that I am in the presence of souls, I, too, often think first about the attributes of others when I first meet them. Do they look friendly? Do they look angry? Do they look like they have a lot of questions to ask? I can get lost in those questions.
There have been other times, thank God, when I have had an opportunity to put away the concentration upon the physical attributes of another and see deep within. This has happened most often at hospitals or nursing homes, at houses of the homebound, and in the confessional.
Sometimes, in hearing the story of another — their pains, their triumphs, their struggle to grow closer to God — I have felt as if I were gazing upon a soul yearning for our Lord. In those times, I could feel my soul coming more to the fore as well. There’s nothing like two souls talking about the love of God to get one through the day!
FAITH ACTION: Attempt to look past the physical attributes of others today and, instead, look for the soul of the person you are encountering.