Where Everybody Knows Your Name 🎶

...and theyre always glad you came. Do those lyrics ring any bells? While the show (Cheers, if you didn't know) may not have had the best values to emulate {cringe}, who can't agree with that sentiment? I feel like, in all stages of life, knowing and being known are so important to all of us. Maybe, if you're more of an introvert, you just need one or two people to know you well. An extrovert might really need to feel known and seen by a larger group. I've been a child and teenager, and am now raising my third and fourth children/teenagers. I'm in my, ahem, late 40s. Not much is more painful for any stage of life than feeling unnoticed, unknown, unaccepted, and worse, unwanted. On the show I mentioned, when a certain person would walk in to the bar, everyone would call out his name and the bartender always knew what he wanted. While I don't recommend seeking that out in a bar setting, it just seems amazing to think of being known and noticed like that. What if we treated people like that regularly? What if we took the time to notice when they are there or not. What they like or don't like? What if we paid attention to those around us and they knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are valued, noticed, accepted-the man in the show wasn't super successful, he wasn't the fittest, best looking, or best dressed. But he was acknowledged, welcomed HEARTILY, and known. When someone walks into church, their home, a meeting...what if we greeted them like they mattered? It could make a difference.