Respect is a gift you offer with your eyes

The title of this post comes from David Brooks in his book 'How to Know A Person' (32). Chapter 3, on illumination, is a warm treat on the art of seeing others. There are two segments I want to highlight:

Jimmy is a pastor. When Jimmy sees a person - any person - he is seeing a creature who was made in the image of God. As he looks into each face, he is looking, at least a bit, into the face of God. When Jimmy sees a person, any person, he is also seeing a creature endowed with an immortal soul - a soul of infinite value and dignity. When Jimmy greets a person, he is also trying to live up to one of the great callings of his faith: He is trying to see that person the way Jesus would see that person. He is trying to see them with Jesus's eyes - eyes that lavish love on the meek and the lowly, the marginalized and those in pain, and on every living person. When Jimmy sees a person, he comes in with the belief that this person is so important that Jesus was willing to die for their sake. As a result, Jimmy is going to greet people with respect and reverence. ... ... If you see the people you meet as precious souls, you'll probably wind up treating them well. (31)

In the section on generosity...

Dr. Ludwig Guttmann was a German Jew who escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 and found a job in a hospital in Britain that served paraplegics, mostly men injured in the war. When he first started working there, the hospital heavily sedated these men and kept them confined to their beds. Guttmann, however, didn't see the patients the way the other doctors saw them. He cut back on the sedatives, forced them out of bed, and started throwing balls at them and doing other things to get them active. As a result, he was summoned to a tribunal of his peers, where his methods were challenged.

"These are moribund cripples," one doctor asserted. "Who do you think they are?"

"They are the best of men," Guttmann replied.

It was his generosity of spirit that changed how he defined them. He continued organizing games, first at the hospital, then for paraplegics around the nation. In 1960 this led to the Paralympic Games. (35)

I don't know about you but... I would like to see more; and better. 

This was a good chapter.