I don't know about you but I prefer to be around other people. I mean, I enjoy being by myself for times of reflection, or maybe while watching football games (I get really engaged in them), but really for the most part I love to be around people, especially when I am out to eat. I have always felt bad for people who eat alone. I know they don't want me to feel bad for them, they probably love being able to eat in peace... but without fail, if I see someone at a restaurant by themselves I feel for them. I have had to eat alone a few times, (usually when out of town on business or at an airport) and I can't stand it. The worst is when you enter the restaurant and approach the host or hostess. They usually make eye contact and then their eyes gaze left and right to see if there is someone next to you and upon seeing no one they say something like, "just one today, huh?" or "dining alone this evening?" I would feel so pitiful, like I had to make an excuse for it or something. I would clarify that I was out of town, or on a business trip, as if the person really cares. They just wanted to know how many menu's to grab, they really had no interest in solving my social isolation issues. The whole time I would be seated I would think to myself, man I wish I didn't look so lame right now. Sometimes I would even bring papers inside with me and act like I was studying or something just so my evening alone looked planned. The truth is that no one probably even noticed that I was alone except me..... Sometimes we can be so captivated by our own "issues" that we cease to realize that life is going on around us. While we sit at our tables worried about our appearance or what other might think, hundreds of people go by and continue to live, continue to eat and laugh and joke and pay their bills and leave. What if our fixation on ourselves and our own issues distracts from what is going on around us? What if there are needs around us and we are missing them? I guess we don't even have to ask that question, the fact is There are needs all around us and we are missing them....missing them because we are to busy in our own little table of one.....
Ask God today to open your eyes to life around you. Opportunities God gives you to add value to the life of others to share His love and your life with others (Acts 4:32-35).
1 comments:
I believe that people are interesting. I am a 'people-watcher' so eating alone is no issue for me. The most entertaining thing I can think of is human interaction. Seeing people talk on the phone, talk to their friends, family, argue, see people being affectionate... everything is just more and more proof that a complex God exists.
Anyways, just my thoughts. I need to call you back! Miss you, boss.
-Mike P.
Post a Comment