A 12 Minute Video and Under 700 Words - Let Me Know Your Thoughts

You’ll get more out of these 12 minutes than a full day of Facebook

I’ve often said that our only problem is our eyes.  In the design of most humans and animals, the eyes generally point just one way – outward.  We take in information, process it, and make decisions.  A simple concept, right?  It makes all the sense in the world for the eagle searching for a fish, an antelope on the lookout for the lions, or the frog that loves to catch the flies.  And for us, too, we gotta see stuff coming. Whether on the lookout for the pocket pickers, oncoming traffic, or the latest Vera Wang, Tory Burch, or Coach – those fortunate with the gift of sight have quite an advantage.

Mohammad Ali said unequivocally that the hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see [float like a butterfly, sting like a bee].  Such wisdom.  But what if our eyes could pull off some other tricks?  Those would be seeing what others see or turning our eyes so much that we can see inside ourselves.  Or perhaps the hattrick – understanding what others have seen during their lives? If one or more of these things were possible, I’d like to think our world would be a kinder kind of a place. 

The inward turning of our eyes might help us understand ourselves – and know when to say when.   If you could see the cortisol in your blood, the heart ramping up its work, or the adrenaline making its way to your brain – you’d know it's time to chill pill it.  The eyes that could see how another person is perceiving you would make you reverse course rather than apologize later for something you said.  And the eyes that can see what the other has seen, if not those of a total narcissistic, selfish, leave nothing for the rest of them asshole – that might help the empathy kick in. 

Sadly, some people have no empathy.  They bully those who they believe to be weaker than themselves.  And the world is full of takers.  Those who will take everything you have to simply to have it…your income, job, home, and maybe even your child. 

Some children are born to child abusers, some wives marry wife beaters, and somewhere in this very compassionate Commonwealth of Massachusetts, an elderly person is about to be stripped of their life savings.  I was once subjected to one of the most prolific hard sells of timeshares imaginable.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  Obviously, I said, “Hell No,” and then when I looked up the company, I learned that they’d been sued for selling several 25-year timeshares to a 98-year-old man who had dementia.  It wasn’t just the work of an individual – it was a whole corporation of people professionally trained to snatch.

We’d all be better educators and parents if we could see what our kids and students see…or at least how they see it.  So, here I will provide you with an opportunity to know just what it is I am getting at.  It takes my readers an average of four minutes to read my posts.  But today, I am asking you to give just 12 minutes more.  Please take a look at the video that I posted with today’s thoughts.  Imagine this kid in your classroom, school, or town.

This might not be indicative of what your child has experienced.  But it is indicative of what far too many of our littles have.  You watch this and then have some dialogue about cutting school budgets and eliminating counselors because all that matters is reading scores.  Or, if you are one of those who believe that stringent discipline for kids who can’t control themselves is the answer – think about why the behavior may be what it is. 

If you have the stamina to watch the whole 12 minutes – just make sure you have your Kleenex.  Because for too many, this short film is far, far too real.