Have you ever met an invisible person? Have you ever felt “invisible,” like the clock is ticking and you’re just breathing without meaning? Do you ever wake up and wish you hadn’t? I asked my primary care patients that question. 19 out of 22 said yes. Seven said “every day.”
Somewhere between “Hi, how are you?” and “See you in three months,” I had to figure out why the pain outweighed the point of it all. If they didn’t want to wake up, lab results didn’t really matter that much. To them.
In this space there will be inside stories of “invisible” people among us, people who suffer from chronic pain, loneliness, rejection, abuse, loss, poverty, addiction, homelessness, cancer, blindness, depression, anxiety and great need. And they have unquenchable peace. They still have sorrow. They still mourn. But like this little cactus in its tiny plot of dirt in the rocks, they store up “living water.” They thrive. They are free. And they inspire us. If we open our eyes and see them.