Lately my mind has been focused on attention and attending to others—as a way to communicate and as morality.
This brings to mind the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I've seen people engage in exhausting text arguments. Note to self: accusing someone of being a "typical Liberal" or a "typical Conservative" doesn't really help anyone communicate.
I have my own struggles here. I'm more of an introvert and enjoy my downtime. But engaging with people—getting to know them—is healthy and good. It's a skill I've been trying to develop for years.
When you get to know them, actually get to know them, see them, understand them—this has to be a safe process. Your goal can't be to get to know someone in order to change them.
Now getting to Brook's wonderful book... Brooks has a deep curiosity about people and he shares the this process. No easy summary here. You have to patiently listen to people, ask open questions, and earn the privilege of deeply knowing someone.
"To be able to understand people and be present for them in their experience-- that's the most important thing in the world."
"Experience is not what happens to you, it's what you do with what happens to you."
"Nothing in life is of any value except the attempt to be virtuous" Murdoch writes "grow by looking."
"During the generative life task, people try to find some way to be of service to the world. One either achieves generatively or one falls into stagnations. Vallant defines generatively as the capacity to foster and guide the next generations."
"Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly thing they are finished."
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