IF WE SAW SOULS INSTEAD OF BODIES is the title of an essay by author Brianna Wiest and appears in her book 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think. I quickly noted that the entire piece consisted of questions. Before reading further, I stared into the pine trees outside my window. Would my questions look much different from hers? Don’t we humans yearn for the same emotional comforts? I pulled a chair snug to my desk, closed my eyes and started typing. The following is my reflection.

If we saw souls instead of bodies, wouldn’t we see flares of colour—yellow for loneliness, orange for traumatized, blue for discouragement—as signs that we’re among people who understand our own isolation, wounds and hopelessness and mightn’t we reach out a hand to help and be helped? Are we so different from one another? If our souls were on our outsides shining the full spectrum of colour, couldn’t we lose sight of differences and love each other better?