YEAR OF ZEN: WINTER: DAY 64

Star trail photography on salt lake in Lut desert in Iran

Q: We all wear blinders. Have you noticed any pattern to your not-noticing?

A: I remember reading how often times people in certain classes simply don’t see or notice homelessness. Where I work, in the Rio Grande District of Salt Lake City, homelessness has always been prevalent. I would say that while I haven’t reached a point of not seeing it, there have been times when I have simply become so numb to it that there is an absolute disconnect from my higher principles and core humanity. Thankfully this has never lasted or become a default mode of seeing the world and my fellow travelers in it, but it is something I try to stay mindful of. In another, more positive, vein, I do carefully self-select blinders for the news and media I consume because all evidence suggests that the agendas behind most for-profit versions are toxic and actively poisoning our discourse and views of each other as people.