No, I don’t think I’m the mentalist. But I do like watching this show as the main character solves crimes by his powers of astute observation. Obviously our behavior indicates a lot about us. The Mentalist watches for the tiniest detail that tells him if a person is lying or not, or if a person is comfortable in a conversation, or if a person’s behavior is congruent with what they say.
It’s around this time of year–the holidays–that I am especially interested in observing stuff in our culture. I also think about my own responses. We know the holidays are generally hectic and anxiety producing due to expectations that we or others put on ourselves. As people of faith and peace this always intriugues me. I wonder if I shouldn’t get more excited about it all?
I was returing a purchase the other day and the clerk said to me, “you wouldn’t know we we in a recession by the looks of the lines around here.” She was right. The lines were long and people were waiting to buy lots of stuff. It seems to me that restaurants are busier than usual too. Parking is tougher to find.
Take a look around. Take a good look. What do you think?
