THE IDES OF SEPTEMBER 2019
Aloha;
If you are the most important thing in the world, then others must surely see that as well. And agree with you that you have inherent value, and worth. It also means that their lives should revolve around yours. They should want to watch, study and mimic all that you do. They should also want to assure that your ideas are heard, and are considered first.
When the people around you agree with this assessment of your importance, you have the rapport to guide them. And you have the influence to affect their behavior to direct events in world. You can instill a goal, or purpose, or vision in the people around you. For they are already receptive to your point of view. So if you are in this situation it is fuel for your ego and validation for your feeling of self-worth.
However, when people do not share your opinion of your importance then you must compete with them. So that others will hear you. Just as they struggle for you to hear them. There is only so much which may be accomplished in a day, therefore each person wants their issues or agenda addressed first. But before that happens they must know you are there. And that means you must gain their notice.
But getting noticed in our society is often not easy; because there are many things we need to notice. Such as moving traffic, and the price of food, and the weather. However, we also spend a lot of time noticing one another. Although people do not divide their attention equally among all the people they see. It is often part of our assessment of other people’s importance or worth.
Attention is like currency in our society. We prize it highly and there is a lot of competition for it. We seek attention to gain wealth and control. When we have people’s attention we have an open market for presenting our ideas. We can make sales, or enlist recruits, or inform the public. It also allows us to set an agenda, or topic of discussion, or steer public notice away from unpopular subjects. Even matters which need their attention.
When people do not get attention, they also don’t receive validation of their self-worth from others. That lack of connection and feedback isolates and weakens the social bond those people may feel. For when people are shunned (or feel that they are), they have little reason to have an allegiance to their society. And therefore little desire to make that society better. In fact, some times they strive to make it worse.
As with other issues we should be thoughtful about where and how we direct our attention. We must remember it is a precious resource that we should actively control. And that we notice much more than we focus attention on. But we should also remember that we all seek attention at one time or another. For most people find it painful if they never get any notice.
Respectfully Yours;
J. A. Stubbs, Editor-In-Chief
Forgotten Lore Publishing, llc