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Ever have the feeling of people looking right through you as though you’re not there?  Either your presence is not sensed or the other person is in a different time and place.  Perhaps the one(s) you’re with are sensing that you aren’t even aware of their presence.  There is a current trend in psychology called “mindfulness”.  It’s current and trendy because it is so much of a problem in today’s culture. Essentially it boils down to our inability to “be in the moment”, our ability (or inability) to be present in and aware of our current reality.  The empty stares, the superficial conversations, the perfunctory actions… Mentally, we’ve checked out.  Jesus was the master of “being in the moment” and giving 100% of his attention to whomever was standing in front of him (or just touching his cloak, for that matter).  I would suggest that our lack of mindfulness, our inability to “be in the moment” stems from our anxiety, our fears or worries concerning the future.  We aren’t fully present because our thoughts are centered on the next… whatever.  Jesus knows our fears, our anxieties and addressed them during his Sermon on the Mount when he said “Do not be anxious for your life…” but to trust that God knows your needs and will provide.  (Matthew 6:25-34).   He both precedes and follows his discussion on anxiety with lengthy discourses on the power of, and the necessity of prayer.  That should tell us something!  Prayer removes anxiety and makes us visible to others and them to us.  All of life is a struggle between fear and love.  Choose love.