The faceless society

How many times do we walk up a street and although we know there are people around us we never really notice them. We go about other business in a world of our own self-importance unaware of others people’s plights or challenges. To us these people don't exist or enrich our lives in anyway.

It can be a harsh reality to accept, but those faceless people in our world have the same perception of us. To them we don’t exist in their world unless we do something to make them take notice. We are nothing in their world and hold no interest to them. When you think about it, it sucks.

I would guess that there won’t be many times that you have met a total stranger, looked them in the eye and smiled. Even the most stern-faced people will soften their expression and usually smile back. You both gain from the experience because you feel acknowledged; you have lost your faceless status and have become a human being.

Now take things a stage further and say “good morning” to a total stranger with a smile and usually you would get the same response. You both gain from the experience because someone was interested enough to break the ice and speak, your faceless status now helps you to become a person.

What response do you think you would you get if you asked someone a question or commented on something you could both relate to? It creates an opportunity for dialog about an innocent common interest. You change the dynamics from two faceless people to two people that are interacting. To engage with someone you must first be interested in him or her before trying to be interesting to them.

You may well look at the last three paragraphs and think, “so what, that was obvious” and yes you would be right, but the question is, how often do we do it? Our own busy life gets in the way of us interacting with other people. Our own insecurities limit the effort we put into engaging with others. Our shyness or embarrassment builds huge walls that stop us from getting noticed.

http://www.mikebowden.uk/blogs/the-faceless-society