“ ... Maybe if I liked being alone
I could give you your life back and let you go ...
I guess I'm important,
but what about them standing there they can't get in ...
They're smiling at me, I guess they're used to this.
Maybe I'll stop wondering when I'm gonna die.
Maybe then I'll stop holding so hard to my life.
Maybe next time I see my reflection my mind won't be with me ... “
~ Lisa Marie Presley ~ Important ~
***
Recently I was asked this question ... Who is the most important person? As we pondered, the answer came back as the person in front of you right now. Perhaps not the answer you would expect. As we are taught that WE are the most important person in the world. Yet consider this ... the most important person you will ever meet is the one in front of you ... the most powerful thing you will ever say is what you are about to say right now ... and the most important moment in your life is the one you are in at this time.
We have been in situations where we drift into autopilot and zone out. We are not fully present ... unless the situation changes. A situation like when we meet someone with an impairment, with a disability or something that slows us down. We may begin to articulate our words better, listen fully and simply soften up a bit. We take better care to check for understanding. We become more thoughtful in being present fully, so we don’t miss anything. We allow the person in front of us to be the most important and what we say may be more thoughtful. As for the moment, we only have this one ... and now the next ... and so on ...
Personally, I remember a time when the company I worked at had a Vice President with a speech impairment. He was young and had suffered a stroke early in life. He was working his way back AND he was our keynote speaker. It took everything in the audience to listen fully, be present fully and completely aware of what was being said. It made us truly listen, really listen.
So what if we took that approach in every interaction? Not judging those in front of us, but giving ourselves fully and completely in the moment. Are we able to slow the chatter in our minds? And how much extra time would it really take? Yet in a society that is about convenience, it can be a challenge for some to slow down.
Life is beautiful as it reflects back what is inward. If we feel a void where we are not truly heard, it may be a time to explore if we are hearing ourselves. Our higher self recognizes that those in front of us are another expression of the Divine. So as we treat those in front of us as the most important person in that moment, we are truly giving this gift back to ourselves.
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