• Apr 20, 2023
What do you think of when you think of thoughtfulness?
I think of recognizing when someone needs a hug, a kind word, a drink. I think of being observant and asking if someone needs help with something. Maybe you have experience. Maybe you don’t.
We tend to think of thoughtfulness as doing something for someone else. And we should. It is a sign of caring, of recognition of something the other is experiencing they might need help with.
Have you ever extended thoughtfulness to yourself?
Me neither. I never considered being thoughtful applied to staying at home and watching a movie when I felt pushed to do something else, was being thoughtful.
Or how about when you want to do something, but there is a nagging question of whether it is safe to be in downtown at 1030 PM on a Friday night. (I am sure it is, but it is an area I am not typically in at that time.). Being thoughtful wasn’t that realization, but the one that if I can’t find someone to go with me, I am nervous about going alone.
Just as we apply thoughtfulness to others, we also need to apply thoughtfulness to ourselves. If we are going to extend the courtesy of something to someone else, why wouldn’t we do it for ourselves?