For example, if you are driving down the street and you see a lady walking on the sidewalk and as you stop at the stoplight she is crossing in front of you. You decide to notice her. Maybe she looks kind of tired, "I wonder why she looks so tired, is there something that is keeping her up at night, some problem that is weighing her down?"
Or maybe you're at school, and there is someone that isn't in your normal group - you don't even know his name, and you decide to notice him. Notice what he looks like, does he look sad or happy, "I wonder what his life is like, is today a good day for him?"
Just notice someone this week. Oh, I guess there is one more thing, but it is a small one -- write down or otherwise record your ‘noticing,’ and then share it on the blog. That way others can participate in your noticing, and you can participate in theirs. Make sense?
I look forward to reading your stories -
- Eric
Help from Doug Humphreys, CRM.
Extra Credit: Ask somebody "How are you" and listen with only that person in mind.
6 comments:
So I'm going to start this off...
I was sitting in a coffe shop in Portland, OR (The Urban Grind) getting caught up on computer stuff (free WiFi). There was a guy sitting at the counter in front of me where the internet access computers are. He had earphones plugged into the system. It seems he was playing some web-based game. He was in his mid-20's, he had a mustache and goatee and dressed in athletic team wear.
I wonder about why he was there playing a game at 3:30 in the afternoon. Did he not have a computer system at home? Did he not want to go home right then? Of all the things to do in an internet coffee shop, to play an online game? How important is this gaming community to him that he'd spend his time doing this? What kind of friends does he have - are most of them gamers? Does he have a job; if so, what does he do? What is his home life like? Does he find real satisfaction in online gaming?
I was at the gym this morning, and could not help but notice how many older people there were -- one specifically stood out.
He was at least 80, kind of hunched over and had difficulty walking. He had to be helped by an employee from exercise station to exercise station. It made me thing, why is he making the effort, it would be so much easier to just stay home. He was having to work so much harder, just to be able to exercise, let alone doing the exercise. I wondered, had he had a stroke, was this part of his rehabilitation. Was he married, did his wife come to the gym as well. Did he live on his own -- how did he get around. My heart felt great compassion for this man who is approaching the tail end of his life and out doing things even with difficulty.
Okay - here's my attempt: I noticed an 60ish lady standing by the bus stop. She looked alert and strong. She held her head up and was looking directly down the street (probably looking for the bus) with a slight smile(?) on her face. It was in the afternoon so it was probably after work and she was heading home. What attracted me was that she didn't look like the typical bus rider, especially someone at the end of the day. Did she have someone to go home to? For such a competent/confident looking person I was surprised she didn't have her own car - were there medical issues/ financial issues? If I see her again, should I offer her a ride?
Barb M
Here goes-While I was waiting at school, I noticed an older lady, I have seen her a few times picking up her grandchild. She always had a smile, but yesterday she didn't. She had a frown. I wondered if she was asked to pick up the child at last minute? Was she upset about something at home? Was she in the middle of some project and hated to stop? Was she not feeling good? Did she just receive bad news? I said a prayer for her just then and asked God to give her better days ahead.
I notice a lady at the waiting room of the dentist office, She looked pleasant,( not many lines on her face) married (ring on finger) with children, (reading a cookbook and the new Food Network magazine on the coffee table in front of her) and probably frugal (she had the food sale fliers on the seat next to her), maybe a child in college, (her choice of clothing and finding good deals, and exciting new food for either an empty nest, or older child) or the child close to starting college , not dressed trendy, but rather casual in good sturdy clothes.
I think she was waiting for someone, as most people going to the dentist are not thinking about dinner and meals, she was probably not their for an emergency, or other dental work but possibly a follow up or a cleaning.
I wondered, if she was waiting, was if for her spouse, or a child or maybe even a parent and thought Either she had done this before, (due to her coming prepared) or she is organized and try’s to get the most out of her down time (lots of people I see in Dr's offices are playing games on phones a few readers from time to time) again I see kids/teens somewhere
What if I am wrong and she has an appointment, what then, does she close her eyes or keep them open when they are drilling / cleaning, does she listen to the music, or hum a tune , and what type of music would she hum/think about?? Maybe she will take a mind vacation, where would she go?? Islands in the Bahamas? Train tip through Canada??
Is she a chair arm squeezer?? One who clenches up?? I do not think so she looks very confident and relaxed, but if she is not going in, would she look different or have different reading material with her if she was getting dental work done? …..
Did not get a chance to look at her hands very close, you can sometimes tell a lot from a persons hands, hmmm so many other things to look at and notice, but I had less than 2 minutes to make my observations.
So much more to see and to look at, but so often much of what you see and assume is wrong, momma always said people were like a box of chocolates…………..
not gump
Alright, here it is--the other day while driving I noticed a young man stopped at a stoplight in his car. He had a tan,long-sleeved shirt on, clean-shaved, dark hair. I would guess he was in his late 20s, early 30s. It was his expression that caught my attention--wide eyed, creased brow with a frown. I wondered if he was thinking about something painful, or perhaps just he didn't want to do--or maybe he was just sulky because of a fight. Was he going to church (it was on a Sunday) and thinking about his life? Maybe he had an early morning service and was thinking about the sermon. Or he could have been going to work--that would explain the frown--and maybe he hated his job. Or, after all, maybe he was just very sleepy and struggling to keep his eyes open. Was he married or unmarried? With or without children? Maybe some problems were arising from that? What would it be like to be in his shoes--happy, carefree (ok, no-one is really carefree), busy, boring, adventurous, calm and quiet...was He a Christian? Was he thinking about life after death? Maybe he didn't know what would happen to Him. Maybe he felt helpless and out of control. Whatever he was feeling, whoever he was, I wonder what his reaction would be like if he knew he was noticed.
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