Small, Concrete Actions
Have we intentionally built a society that gives people little guidance on how to perform the most important activities of life?
From David Brooks's book How to Know a Person (my emphases):
We talk about the importance of "relationships," "community," "friendship," "social connection," but these words are too abstract. The real act of, say, building a friendship or creating a community involves performing a series of small, concrete social actions well: disagreeing without poisoning the relationship; revealing vulnerability at the appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to end a conversation gracefully; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; knowing how to let someone down without breaking their heart; knowing how to sit with someone who is suffering; knowing how to host a gathering where everyone feels embraced; knowing how to see things from another's point of view . . .
Some days it seems like we have intentionally built a society that gives people little guidance on how to perform the most important activities of life.
