People don’t pay attention to each other anymore.  They look at themselves, their phones, their problems, their successes, and ignore everyone else.  Like in the short film Scavengers, they use other people and creatures as stepping stones to get to their own goals.  In the end, it isn’t about who surrounds them or who they affect, it’s about their wants.  To them, the end justifies the means.  

All of us need to look around, to notice and see how we function in this world.  It’s important to ask questions, to note what stands out and differs from the norm.  This can lead to us discovering new problems, solving old ones, or simply learning something new.  If we can learn to see our similarities and our differences, not just keep moving on blindly, we can learn to pay attention more, to grow our relationships with each other.  Even the simplest thing can make someone’s day, if you notice enough to know how their surroundings and connections affect them.  

Building Healthy Relationships

When we have any sort of relationship with someone, whether it be romantic, familial, or friendly, we learn to see deeper into them.  We learn who they are, all their habits and little quirks and how they go through life.  We have to nurture our relationships to make them grow, like the infographic demonstrates.  We have to pay attention to know how to help and support our people, the people we keep close.  To keep growing with them, there is work we need to do.  Being there for them and helping to fulfill their needs are just a couple of ways we can show them we care.  

So paying attention is a start.  Using what you notice and see to help others is another step forward.  We have to learn to draw connections and find the common ground, so we don’t just see and notice, and not do anything with the information we gain.  Nobody’s perfect.  Everyone’s going to not pay attention sometimes, but we have to be active about it, so we can try to notice the world and the people in it and how we are a part of that.