Can I Get a Witness? (Seen) Limited Edition Giclee Print

About This Piece

One of the most potent desires we have as human beings is the craving to be seen. In joy, and especially in pain or sadness, we long to know that we are visible to others, and that we matter.

When I was in college, I took a trip to Chicago, and as I was riding the train to meet up with my sister, there was a homeless man walking along the aisle. As passenger after passenger averted their eyes, he passionately exclaimed, “I am a human being! You can look at me.”

Being a witness to the pain of another can often be a hard thing to do. To truly be present to their experience, to look it in the face, we must grapple with our own fears of suffering, vulnerability, indignity, frailty, and death. We must reckon with our selfishness and our privilege. 

We don’t want to see ourselves in those that are struggling.  We look away because it’s easier than managing our fear and guilt. But when we allow our fear to exist without trying to push it away, it eventually gives way to compassion, and we can offer those around us what they most desperately desire–acknowledgment, connection, and visibility.

What is the hardest thing about sitting with difficult emotions for you? What would need to happen for you to be a better witness to those who are hurting?