I went to the Dallas Stars game last night with a couple of friends and I must say that it was quite the welcome to Dallas’ professional sports. The Stars gave up two quick goals in the first period, but dominated the rest of the game and came back to tie it. After five minutes of overtime, the game came down to a shootout and the Stars won. It was definitely an exciting night, and I don’t even watch hockey.
OK, sports update aside, I was encouraged without even having a “real conversation” last night. We were sitting in the upper level with a bunch of families and there was a two year old little girl sitting in her sister’s lap in front of me. I don’t normally play with random people’s kids (that’s a lie, if they want to play, I play) but she is the same age as my niece, and since I didn’t really know what all was going on in the game, we just played. Every once in a while, her mom would reach over and pull her back, or yell at her sister to not let her do it, but it didn’t bother me. I don’t think her mom was really even that upset about, maybe just a little embarrassed.
As I played with the little girl, a thought crossed my mind. At what age do we start distancing ourselves from people and get this idea that we’re bothering others. This little girl has no concept of a comfort zone or the “value” of time, but is willing make friends with anyone. No one is a stranger. The longer I do this project, the more I feel like a two year old in this aspect. I just talk to people. There’s a lot we can learn from each other, but even more than that, it’s just fun. That little girl wasn’t looking to learn anything from me, she just wanted to play.
I never want to be naive or not use discernment, but one thing I hope people realize when I talk with them is that they’re worth my time. I don’t have much (any) money, but I still believe the most valuable thing we can give people is our time, and I do have a lot of that (well, same as you actually). I encourage you to be generous today. I’m not talking about giving money or donating clothes, I’m talking about giving something you can never get back. Show someone they are worth your time, even is they don’t “deserve” it.
