What Have You Learned… From People?
An eight-year-old who enthusiastically tackles a book on how to care for his dog is likely to get my attention. An eight-year-old so intent on the wisdom his book offers that he fails to notice when the actual dog needs to actually go outside is likely to keep that attention and be on my mind when I come up for air to consider the week's events.
Jonah can be excused for his lapse. Books are a great source of widening experience. Still, I wonder how often people who have been around longer than Jonah choose a favorite, familiar format from which to get most of their input about life and then, purposefully or not, ignore everything else. Closing in on another year of reading or listening to at least 250 books, I'm sure I've missed my share of dogs in distress. That is, I've missed opportunities to actually use what I learn in order to benefit others whose presentation may not be as ordered or as efficient as the page sequence or high-speed, on-demand narration of a book. Real people have stories, too.
Jonah's mom Patrice is smart enough to know that such a transition doesn't happen without help. Looking back on a celebrity encounter in which Jonah got to meet Jay Leno as a fellow car enthusiast, she said she could have given him more of HER attention preparing him to feel comfortable asking questions of a real life, maybe larger-than-life, figure. Eight or not, wise mom at our side, or not, we need to rehearse the possibility that our next conversation may be as enlightening as any we've ever had. In fact, our questions might be welcomed. We might, in interactions that by their sheer volume are easy to undervalue, help somebody see the world differently just as, little by little, the people who took an interest in us have shaped and shifted our perspective.
Independently of learning from Jonah, another friend, this time a middle-aged guy like myself, pledged disaffection with the easily assumed habits of a mediated life, that is, one disproportionately interpreted for him by media. He and I are going to hold each other accountable for what we learn, while actually paying attention, from the close relationships in which we easily assume we already know enough to get by. Maybe there will be less streamed video, a less imposing book count, in this month-long pilot project toward more attentiveness in 2018. Maybe as the people we say we value realize that we are actually listening and interested, sometimes without a medial fallback just in case they need help or attention, more than the businesslike exchange essential for daily routines will take place.
Jonah can be excused for his lapse. Books are a great source of widening experience. Still, I wonder how often people who have been around longer than Jonah choose a favorite, familiar format from which to get most of their input about life and then, purposefully or not, ignore everything else. Closing in on another year of reading or listening to at least 250 books, I'm sure I've missed my share of dogs in distress. That is, I've missed opportunities to actually use what I learn in order to benefit others whose presentation may not be as ordered or as efficient as the page sequence or high-speed, on-demand narration of a book. Real people have stories, too.
Jonah's mom Patrice is smart enough to know that such a transition doesn't happen without help. Looking back on a celebrity encounter in which Jonah got to meet Jay Leno as a fellow car enthusiast, she said she could have given him more of HER attention preparing him to feel comfortable asking questions of a real life, maybe larger-than-life, figure. Eight or not, wise mom at our side, or not, we need to rehearse the possibility that our next conversation may be as enlightening as any we've ever had. In fact, our questions might be welcomed. We might, in interactions that by their sheer volume are easy to undervalue, help somebody see the world differently just as, little by little, the people who took an interest in us have shaped and shifted our perspective.
Independently of learning from Jonah, another friend, this time a middle-aged guy like myself, pledged disaffection with the easily assumed habits of a mediated life, that is, one disproportionately interpreted for him by media. He and I are going to hold each other accountable for what we learn, while actually paying attention, from the close relationships in which we easily assume we already know enough to get by. Maybe there will be less streamed video, a less imposing book count, in this month-long pilot project toward more attentiveness in 2018. Maybe as the people we say we value realize that we are actually listening and interested, sometimes without a medial fallback just in case they need help or attention, more than the businesslike exchange essential for daily routines will take place.
True! The gold is in the relationships we make with friends and families, experiences, the journey, the challenges of balancing work and personal life. I recall seeing a WWII recruitment poster of a guy reading a newspaper, with the voice of Uncle Sam bellowing, "Stop reading about history--go out and make it!" I'm a voracious reader as well and a consumer of many forms of media, as part of that is my job. At the end of the day, it's about tending to old and new relationships, being positive and kind, and leaving something behind that others will find meaningful and/or helpful, or just bring joy.
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