When we actually see a person… not as a function, label, or bit player in a supporting role but as another human being, we affirm their worth. When we acknowledge others, we give them significance. Noticing is oxygen for the soul. It says: “You exist. You matter. You have meaning in my world.”
“I see you, and because I see you, you exist more fully… and therefore so do I.” When we slow down and cast aside our busyness and make space for another in our reality, we bestow dignity upon them and thus ourselves as well.
In a culture of preoccupation and abstraction, where we spend all too much of our time with faces buried in our phones, noticing re-humanizes both parties. The beauty of noticing is that it is free; it requires no resources, no expertise. It is a gift anyone can give to anyone… and by enriching their lives, we enrich ours as well.
Closing Quotes:
“To be of importance to others is to be alive.” – T.S. Elliot, 1888-1965
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” – Simone Weil, 1909-1943
“Kindness always starts with noticing the needs and hurts of others.” – Rick Warren, b. 1954
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier
Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832
