Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

Today's passage invites us to consider something deceptively simple and surprisingly difficult for many of us,

what it means to name what we want. Today's reading comes

from Mark, Chapter 10, 46, through 52. Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples,

together with a large crowd, were leaving the city a blind man, Bartimaeus, which means son of

Timius, was sitting by the roadside begging.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, Jesus, son of David,

have mercy on me. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more.

Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus stopped and said, call him. So they called to the blind man.

Cheer up, on your feet. He's calling you. Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to

Jesus. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked him. The blind man said,

Rabbi, I want to see. Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed you. Immediately, he received a sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Bartimaeus is sitting by the roadside when Jesus passes through. He's blind. He's on the margins, and he's not quiet. He cries out. He calls Jesus by name. He refuses to be ignored.

And almost immediately, the crowd responds by trying to silence him. And that detail is so resonant.

From a psychological perspective, many of us learned early, sometimes subtly, sometimes very clearly, that expressing

need was risky, that wanting too much made us inconvenient, that staying quiet preserved our

acceptability. Over time, those lessons shape us. We learn to downplay desire, to soften our

asks, or to convince ourselves to play it cool, even when we're

hurting. Bartimaeus does none of that. He doesn't whisper. He doesn't apologize. He doesn't manage

the crowd's discomfort. And Jesus responds in a way that is both gentle and deeply instructive.

He stops. That alone is significant. Jesus doesn't keep

moving. He doesn't rush past need. He allows himself to be interrupted. And then he asks

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