Many thoughts in reading Akiko Busch's essay. I can make myself very invisible and land in a blind spot. None of us know where we are going to land. As someone who spent years trying to be invisible, I know it is impossible to make oneself totally invisible, and it's not a good way to be. Now I want to be visible -- not imposing, not superficially narcissistically visible, not on perpetual display, but compassionately authentically visible. I've tried reticent, and for the most part, it's a waste. There is a time and place for private -- have a good reason for being private. Discretion is wise. No one is utterly autonomous. Times of being deeply aware and receptive to the world are valuable. You never know what's going on inside a person, why someone is being visible or invisible. I typically like when someone is transparent and making visible their true self. I think optics and image have become much too important in our culture. For me, going unseen or invisible isn't the answer. I think the challenge is to be mindfully aware,real and visible at the same time. A time of retreat during which one is out of sight can be helpful not for the purpose of being invisible but to find one's truth and be one's real self.
On Apr 3, 2021 David Doane wrote :