just now, i was reminded of one small act, meaning nothing to me almost twenty years ago, had somehow stuck in the mind of a friend. fortunately, it was an inadvertent act of kindness, rather than some typical teenage careless insult. i wonder, if blackberries or iphones existed then, and they had been randomly buzzing, whether i would have given the same undivided attention to her plight.
i don't know. but i do know that i'm diseased with short attention spans, multi-tasking tendencies, and an unsatiable approval-seeking ego (truly a sad state of things when they seem to somehow come in the form of likes and comments).
but i do need to pay attention. not just cursory politeness. not only to close friends and family, but to every person that i interact with, and as much as possible. despite the deluge of everything in our lives, genuine care stands out like a beacon. when we really listen, we understand things we may not otherwise understand. it is different, and people will be better for it, whether we know it now or later.
as said by one of my favorite teachers, "paying attention is enormous. not only does it have a profound effect now, but an enduring effect on a once-upon-a-time teenager who recalls what you did years later."
