InspirEmail No 93 - Pay Attention

A truly successful leader in any business or organisational endeavour is exemplified in their ability to galvanise and engage the support of their greatest asset . . . people
Keith Ready

InspirEmail No 93 - September 11, 2006
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

Pay Attention

A funny story circulated recently about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle evidently told of a time when he hailed a taxi in Paris. Before he could utter a word, the driver turned to him and asked, 'Where can I take you, Mr. Doyle?' Doyle was flabbergasted. He asked the driver if he had ever seen him before.'No, sir,' the driver responded, 'I have never seen you before.' Then he explained: 'This morning's paper had a story about you being on vacation in Marseilles.

This is the taxi stand where people who return from Marseilles always arrive. Your skin colour tells me you have been on vacation. The ink spot on your right index finger suggests to me that you are a writer. Your clothing is very English, and not French. Adding up all those pieces of information, I deduced that you are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.'

'This is truly amazing!' the writer exclaimed. 'You are a real-life counterpart to my fictional creation, Sherlock Holmes!'

'There is one other thing,' the driver said.

'What is that?'

'Your name is on the front of your suitcase.'

Perhaps the driver was no master detective, but he was observant! He paid attention, and paying attention is an important part of living fully.

'Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments,' Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy aptly said. A life lived to the full is lived from moment to moment, rather than from milestone to milestone. It is more of a series of days in which we truly pay attention, than a few major events along the way.

Speaker Alan Loy McGinnis tells of a New York City sculptor named Louise. She lived in one of the most dilapidated neighbourhoods of the city. But, by paying attention to her surroundings, she found endless beauty and inspiration. She marvelled at the elegance in the varying patterns of the sun and the moon reflected on tenement windows. In an object as ordinary as a chair she could see something extraordinary. 'The chair isn't so hot,' she once pointed out, 'but look at its shadow.' By paying attention, she was able to see what others might miss.

Pay attention! To the things of life, to people, to events, to your senses. Even to the ordinary. Pay attention to the moments and your life will never lack beauty and splendour. By making the most of the moments, you make the most of the years.

Written by Steve Goodier

Steve Goodier publishes This is Your Life Support System, a free e-newsletter sharing life, love and laughter. You can visit Steve's website at ... lifesupportsystem >>>

September - Featured Inspiration

The Distinct Sound of Purring

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only ... read the full story >>>

Never Mind

Sometimes when nothing goes just right, and worry reigns supreme.
When heartache fills the eyes with mist and all things useless seem.

There's just one thing can drive away the tears that scald and blind,
someone to slip a strong arm around you and whisper, 'Never mind'

No one has ever told just why, those words such comfort bring;
nor why that whisper makes our cares, depart on hurried wing.

Yet when troubles say a quick 'Good-day' we leave them far behind,
when someone slips an arm around you, and whispers, 'Never mind'

But love must prompt that soft caress that love must, aye, be true,
or at that tender, clinging touch, no heart ease come to you,

But if the arm be moved by love, sweet comfort you will find,
when someone slips an arm around you and whispers, 'Never mind!'

Author Unknown