Pay Attention

This verse is always so convicting to me. How often do we go about our daily lives paying attention to only ourselves: our wants, our needs, our desires, our dreams? We forget the cost of being self-consumed and we forget to look around and notice the needs, wants, desires, and dreams of those around us. 

This doesn't mean you have to like all of the same things as your friends, family, or coworkers. But how much effort does it take to ask a question about something you know your loved one cares about? Chances are, it will take less than 5 minutes of your day, and it will show them that you care about things that are important to them. 

While having common interests in relationships is important, it's more important that we care about people and make an effort to care about the things they love. Ask them the score of the game, the secret ingredient in that new recipe, what they did last weekend. Just asking shows you care.

I love this little quote I stumbled across on Pinterest. The people who are able to empathetic in your life are the ones who really care about you. Make sure that people can say the same thing of you.

I am so blessed with the best group of friends.

We all have a few things in common, but the way we are able to mesh together is something special. And it's because we pay attention to each other, we genuinely want what's best for each other. We take part in activities whether we want to or not because we know it's something important to someone else. 

Mostly, I can ask my friends to go to a concert (of someone they've never even listened to), go to a movie (where I say all the lines out loud and play my recorder at the end), go out 6 nights in a 2 week span to watch the Iowa State Cyclones (even though they are all Hawkeye fans), make crafts, sing karaoke, have a book club....the list could just stretch forever. But it's because we look to the interests of others. They look to the interests of me and I am so thankful.