Pay Attention. This was a term that I heard a great deal when I was a kid. The other was "Why don't you pay attention". So many times when I heard this, I thought that I was paying attention, and my parents had nothing better to do than yell at me. I would even hear it from some of my school teachers. It did not come to my attention (pardon the pun) until later in life when this phrase took on its true meaning.

The term to me now has several meanings, but for the purpose of this article, I am talking about what is going on around you and how are these events affecting your life. Let me put it this way, when you got to work today how did people greet you, or better how did you greet them. When you saw them did you make eye contact, or not. Did you speak to them first or did they start the conversation.

Paying attention has been over the last several years, an eye opener for me. Here is an example of an incident that I saw in a department store one evening while shopping. I was looking around and happened to pass through the shoe department. I saw a mother and she had three small children. One was in the cart she was pushing, she was carrying one, and the third was a boy about four years old.

The lady had been looking at a pair of shoes and then decided it was time to move on and said lets go and said the boys name. The boy stood looking at a pair of shoes which were something like those of a super hero. He said mommy I want to get these or something to that effect. She never even turned around but said, no we need to get going. It seemed from the way she was moving that she was late for an appointment or something. By the time the young boy started to make his second plea for the shoes, his mother was now yelling from the end of the isles and two isles over.

As I observed this I thought to myself why would a woman in today's day and age, walk away from a four year old in a crowded store like this. After this happened I thought maybe the mom works outside the home and she has been at work all day, (There was no husband around at the time). Maybe she is a stay at home mom, and she has been with the kids all day with no time for herself. Maybe she is a single mom, and maybe, and maybe, and maybe.

If she took more time to pay attention she may be less stressed out. What I mean is take the time to pay attention, to how all the events in her life are affecting her. I believe that if we take time to notice, there are often signs along the road of life, that we are headed for trouble. You will be more likely to spot them, if you take the time to, Pay Attention.

Dave Trilety has an extensive background in Law Enforcement,as well as 10 years marketing experience. He lives in Myrtle Beach South Carolina with his wife Tammy and their daughter Tara. His first book on self development is due out in the Fall of 2006.