As The World Turns.

I confess I am a people watcher. If I'm waiting somewhere, anywhere -- Dr's office, parking lot -- chances are I'm watching you.

I'm not picking apart your wardrobe or wondering why the heck you're such a hot mess. It's more about that look in your eye or why you're walking with your shoulders rounded down today. I guess I'm fascinated by the story that I see in people. The mystery of trying to figure it out.

Some people are easy to read; sometimes their current situation is all you see... the stressed mom with kids trailing behind and packages in hand; the squabbling couple who thinks they're being discreet. Sometimes peoples "unseen" deeds are seen; the surreptitious littering or quick nose-digging. The gracious opening of a door for someone who needs help or letting someone else step ahead in line.

Occasionally, you get to see moments of brilliance and courage; the ill man with dark circles under his eyes who is struggling to do the simplest of tasks, but perseveres for the sake of continuing normality in his life. The determined look of a child in a wheelchair, working hard to keep up with his family in the parking lot. The careful application of lipstick on a lined and age-worn face as an elderly woman reminds the world that she once was a beauty. The trembling hand of a woman with a neurological issue which bears the shaky lines of nail polish.

I guess I see myself in these stories, in these passers-by. They are a parade of my past, my present, my future, my good, my bad, my embarrassed slips and graceful saves. They are a parade of emotion and a reminder that even the mundane moments in life are Seen. The world goes on and we are Seen.

There's a beauty in that which never fails to touch me. And so I watch. And smile. And sometimes I weep. And hope that somewhere, sometime; I will be Seen, too.