Listen and Learn

We went to the library yesterday for a program for the kids. Unexpectedly, we started talking with a librarian, who chatted with both kids about their favorite books. 

For the next hour (as the kids did their crafts for the program), he kept running out to the shelves, pulling books he thought they would like based off what they had told him. (We knew he was on track when he started pulling some that they'd already read and enjoyed.) 

The kids left with an assortment of books they'd never heard of, hours of reading materials, and the inspiration for months more of sources. 

It always pays to strike up a conversation, or at least to be open to someone reaching out to you.

Every person you pass - in the library, on the street, the cashier, or the stranger in line behind you - has something within them that you would benefit from experiencing. Whether it's knowledge, a shared sorrow, a recommendation that will help you find your new "favorite", or just a smile, 

Pay attention.

Listen and learn.