I and Thou

Last week, I visited a new church...sort of. It was a unitarian universalist church. I thought it was really interesting, and I'll probably go back tomorrow. The "sermon" was about "I-Thou" relationships versus "I-It" relationships. According to Wikipedia, an I and Thou relationship is: a book by Martin Buber. Buber's main proposition is that we may address existence in two ways: that of the "I" towards an "IT", towards an object that is separate in itself, which we either use or experience; and that of the 'I' towards 'THOU', in which we move into existence in a relationship without bounds. One of the major themes of the book is that human life finds its meaningfulness in relationships. All of our relationships, Buber contends, bring us ultimately into relationship with God, who is the Eternal Thou. I guess if I took anything from that hour, it was that we tend to treat a lot of people around us (like cashiers or coworkers) as though we have an "I-It" relationship with them instead of treating them as people. I was conscious of this throughout my week this week, and it's amazing how many times I was tempted in line at the check-out counter or with people that I work with that I normally don't converse with to go on about my business without glancing up. I tell myself that I'm just focused on my next task and that they should understand that. I don't genuinely believe this though. The truth is, people want to be treated as a person, no matter the reason you're coming in contact with them. I'm very guilty of being aloof. I blame it on my eccentricities and say that's what makes me unique, and that I wouldn't be me if I weren't a little hard to get to know. I'm at least going to be more aware of the people around me and make more atempts to connect. Pass it on.