Today, I caught one of my martial arts kids praising and saying hello/goodbye to other kids by name, completely unprompted.
“Hi, Ben!”
“Arm Shake?”
“Great job today, Alkalifah!”
“High 5!”
“See you later, Jackson.”
While this doesn’t sound like anything profound, what I usually see are kids completely consumed in their own worlds. Playing on screens, fixing their clothes, playing with toys, asking parents for money, picking out things they want in the pro-shop, etc.
…Which, if I’m being honest, is what I see from many (most) adults, too.
For a student to come in so present minded, and to have such an outward attention to the people in his environment, and to take the time to acknowledge them by name and say nice things is nothing short of profound if you ask me.
And if that’s something more of us adults could do, too, I’d say that’d be a pretty remarkable thing worth aiming for and celebrating as well.