I can see her face, and still hear her voice, spilling out words of anger and anguish. I want someone to care about me – to take an interest in me. She went on: “No one’s got time for me. Everybody is so wrapped up in their own stuff, I feel like I am invisible!”
How old do you think she was, the one whose heart hurt; was she young or old? It doesn’t matter; being ignored hurts at any age. Male or female!
I recognized that cry.
So did Maya Angelou when she suggested, “For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they’re stones that don’t matter.”
That means making some adjustments in my attitudes, and actions.
Get over thyself, for starters.
Don’t assume teenagers don’t want to talk to seasoned citizens. Don’t project rejection! Make the effort to show the interest we wish others would make.
If you stop to be kind, you must swerve often from your path. Mary Webb
Slow down and see; see and smile. Smile and say something kind. Better yet, do something kind, like listening for an answer.
How are you doing is not so hard to ask . . . but listening to the answer and engaging may take longer.
deafness causes anguish and anger
Can we change to be a change?
I think old dogs can learn new tricks, even in the church; especially in the church! I think we all can defuse another’s anger, and comfort their anguish with a little kindness. What’s our excuse not to try?
Kind words, kind looks, kind acts and warm handshakes, these are means of grace when men in trouble are fighting their unseen battles. —John Hall.
“I’ve learned,” Dr. Angelou that wrote, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Wow . . . How am I making people feel?
Valued or invisible?
“I’m convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere . . . As long as you’re breathing, it’s never too late to do some good,” Maya Angelou declared.
See, if we have a pulse, we really do have a purpose!
If I had it to do again, I’d ask more questions and interrupt fewer answers. ~ Robert Brault
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