Imagine

Words. They say they cut like a knife, but some of them slip by, almost unnoticed, slicing like a tiny paper cut. At first, barely noticeable, and then the cool air hits. It burns. You look down and see a sliver of pink, and it clicks. You’ve been cut. Something so small is now throbbing.

Those are the words spoken with a smile, a flip of the hair, a tone of familiarity all the while digging ever so slightly below the skin, leaving a sting. That hurt.

I must have cut someone with my own. I’m sure of it. But the other day it was the flippant phrase that slid by, leaving my heart to heal.

“I could never imagine.”

It snuck in behind casual small talk. “I could never imagine dating in this day and age,” she said. It was harmless, right? She looked at me as she spoke the words, not really looking at me, but looking through me. Thinking out loud. 

What I heard?
I’m so glad I’m not you.

I’m sure I’ve said the same clumsy string of words. I could never imagine having three kids in diapers, as you look into the eyes of a mom whose arms are heavy and nights are long. 

I could never imagine working two jobs, as you speak over the one juggling long hours and chaotic schedules just to make ends meet. 

I could never imagine sharing a child with my ex husband. She says to the weary woman walking through the thick mud of divorce. 

I’d never want to be you. How many times do we say this to the very souls who perhaps wonder if they even want to be themselves?

Maybe it’s time we start to imagine, and let the colors of our minds paint a picture to truly see the beauty and the sorrow someone else lives. 

Before the words, “I could never imagine” roll off your tongue, maybe try. 

Try to imagine a world where your blessings disappeared. Talk to someone as if you’re not so far off in a world where you couldn’t fathom what it would feel like to squeeze your privileged foot into their worn shoe. 

Let’s not live so distant from others in places where we can’t even fathom. Let’s be near. Be close. Be personal with someone to let them feel that the life they live isn’t so far away that it’s simply unimaginable. 

And then one day when you find yourself in a landscape that feels so different from those around you. So unique, and so far off from the world that seems to simply have it all – you’ll meet a friend who dares to imagine into your world as well. And then, you might not feel so alone.