Two Hundred Sixty-One

It’s so damn easy for me to get distracted and, in so doing, to absent-mindedly behave in a way that causes other people to feel I am ignoring them or their feelings. Or, perhaps, the perception is simply that I lack empathy. I understand that. I was on the receiving end of that distraction recently and I felt ignored, as if my emotional discomfort was of no concern to someone who, in hindsight, I feel sure intended nothing of the sort. But my “receiving end” experience was a lesson to me: pay attention to your surroundings, especially the people who might be depending on you for acknowledgement or comfort.