“To be in the present with someone is a gift. The gift of attention is perhaps the most precious and envied of all. …
“Think of someone who, while you are talking to him, is looking elsewhere, mentioning a subject that is irrelevant to what you are saying. Inattention has a disruptive, depressing aspect, which saps our vitality and robs us of our self-confidence.”
From: The Power of Kindness, by Piero Ferrucci.
Message: Pay attention to the way you pay attention today/this week.
Consider: “Paying attention” is “the most precious gift.”
Follow-up: Talk explicitly about the act of and power of paying attention. It is not only a “gift,” but it is a “tool” that pays enormous practical dividends.