It's Six Billion, Actually

And now, one of my all-time favorite movie quotes. It's not a subtle putting together of words like some of my other quotes have been this week. It's just beautiful though. An answer to why we get married, from Shall We Dance:

Because we need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet...I mean, what does any one life mean? But in a marriage you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things - all of it, all the time, every day. You're saying, 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness.'

I love this as a marriage quote, but I think it has other uses. A reminder to listen as much or more than we talk. A reminder to be there for people, relate to them, convince them they're not alone.

I saw some performance art the other day that was a woman sitting in a chair staring at the person who was sitting in the other chair. She just looked at them, straight in their eyes. She cried sometimes. So did they. And the guy describing the piece said, "We all want to feel connection."

Isn't that the truth?

I want to be a witness to my husband and to my boys. I want to notice my friends. I want to see a stranger do something nice at the grocery store and then I'll smile at them and let them know I saw. Notice, notice, notice. Notice somebody else and I guarantee you'll stop feeling like just one of six billion people yourself.