When you meet a vulnerable person, don’t walk away

What do you see when you’re met with the gaze of someone you don’t recognise — or of someone whom you love? Vulnerability reflected in the face of the other is what then fuels the desire within you. If you encountered someone who had a void similar to the one you’re trying to fulfil, would you walk towards the person or turn away?

Remember that there’s always a wish and a fear that work in tandem together; a wish to be seen, a wish to be loved and fear of being forgotten. It is this beautiful ambivalence that marks our all-too-human existence. So how do we relate to this immortal face of the other?

Guilt is something that haunts all our waking moments. Could you have done anything to lessen their pain, save them? What is it that you’re seeking to alleviate? A sense of loss that creates ripples of anxiety that makes you go after whatever you can, preferably a close substitute to what has been lost, to somehow deal with the loss that remains?

The next time you find yourself in the company of someone you assume to be lacking, I suggest you take a second and contemplate the loss you carry within you. Try. That’s all you need to do. Try and reach out to that face of the other that holds infinity within itself. Take a deep breath and a step forward — a step forward to love.

I hope you save someone with a smile you never thought you could do. I hope you extend your heart to contain the cries that go unheard.