A More Beautiful World

There is an art to making people feel comfortable. As with most art forms, natural abilities will only take you so far. Study, practice and, ultimately, a sharply honed skill-set tend to rule the day. So why then, when it is within the grasp of anyone to make others around them comfortable, do we find so few moments that illustrate this point?

I like to watch people. I always have. As children growing up, we traveled quite a bit, so my sister Judy and I played a game. I would pick someone from the crowd and she would “tell” me their life story.

All we knew of this person was what we could learn from observing them at that moment. Our tales were remarkably entertaining and, I am certain, not related to the individual’s actual life what-so-ever. The point was to observe.

So when I travel today I observe and I learn (or am reminded) that there are many lives on this planet. Our only hope for civilized relations begins with the manner in which I relate to the person standing next to me.

If I act in a thoughtful manner, I have sewn a seed of thoughtfulness. If I act in kindness, gentleness or grace that seeks to make my fellow human more comfortable then I have sewn seeds that one day may produce more of their own kind.

It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize the impact of an action by one repeated by two; then by four; then eight and on and on. How beautiful might this world be (by a small degree or large) if we included those around us as we make choices about how we move through this world.