So close but yet so far?  Okay, to be grammatically correct it’s not really a question but more of a statement…one that we have certainly heard before and more than likely words that we have actually uttered ourselves.  Typically this statement is reserved for those times in life when we’ve gotten so close to making that winning shot or perhaps so close to reaching the top of a grueling climb only to run out of gas just before we reached the peak.  But I’ve been taken back of late by how this truism finds its way into my proximity with people.  I’ve been captivated by just how differently I see people when I allow myself to get close enough to see the color of someone’s eyes.  To actually allow myself to enter into an encounter with another person that is characterized by close proximity.  Perhaps you too can think of those times when you’ve observed people from a distance but you’ve never really allowed yourself to get close enough to actually engage them in even a simple conversation. If you’re like me rather than inviting them in you’ve kept them at bay on the periphery of your life’s radar.  More importantly or even more troubling you’ve actually found yourself engaged in some form of pre-judgemental hypothesizing as you’ve tried to sum up what type of person they might be.  Truth be told we’ve all probably allowed the seeds of envy borne out of comparison to take root long before we even knew the book that lay behind the cover of a person’s life.  In some way they can be so close to us in proximity but so far away in our appreciation and understanding of them as a person.  Is this really just a way for us to fulfill that insatiable desire to deflect intimacy or to not “pay the price” of engaging another person. Its’ crazy isn’t it?  My experience has been when I finally allow myself to lean into even a simple conversation with another person I see them in a totally different light.  I see the beauty of their countenance or the rich history of life written in the lines on their face.  My ears begin to hear the actual inflection and tones in their voice.  My heart begins to connect with theirs in some magical way as I begin to get a glimpse of the intensity of their humanness. And that pre-judgment, borne out of presumption, gives way to the simple delight of knowing another sojourner on the journey of life.  Come to think about it, I guess at the end of the day closeness counts in more of life than just horseshoes.  Peace.