“You can see a lot just by observing.”
– Yogi Berra, baseball icon
Yogi’s “observation” begs the question of seeing vs. understanding.
It’s easy to “feel” the active part of verbs like questioning, seeking, pursuing.
So, why does observing sound so passive?
Is it a choice we’re making.
Whenever I’m seeking context around really seeing or observing, I think about a Secret Service or FBI agent — in a crowd of people, seeing the one odd behavior or the single strange occurrence in a mass of humanity.
And I wonder, “Can that be taught?”
Whether or not it can be taught, I bet it can be practiced. By focusing on one person with that level of intensity, I bet we’d observe more actively. And I bet it will make a difference when we do.
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