By Jim Nichols

We remember Major League Baseball great Yogi Berra not only for his playing ability but also for his way of generating phrases that are awkwardly and weirdly true. An example is “You can observe a lot by watching.” It is a strange way of teaching the value of observation and active listening.

In late December and early January of each year the Audubon Bird Count occurs in our country. Later in February is the Great Backyard Bird Count. In each case, the goal is to report bird types that volunteers see or hear and thus generate a somewhat accurate estimate of relative populations. For people fascinated by birds (colors, sizes, songs, habitats, feeding habits), it is an enriching activity.

One of my chaplain mentors gave me an important hint that has broader implications than the context at the time. It deals with paying attention or watching and looking.

The mentor fielded this question: “How do I know when to end the hospital patient visit?”

The response was to watch the patient’s eyes. During the initial conversation, the patient will pay attention to you. Depending on the individual, when that patient is ready to be through with you, he or she will begin to glance around. There may be a television set perched high above the patient, and they will begin to watch it furtively. They may just close their eyes. Just this morning after about a twenty-minute care center visit, the patient began to look around and semi-listen to the other staff and patient conversations occurring (loudly). That was my signal to say good-bye.

There are wonderful whole books written encouraging readers to tune in to what is occurring around them. Despite that, our self-centered nature, and our minds full of personal concerns lead us to miss inspiring, informative, and instructing scenes around us. Training ourselves to pay better attention is a valuable goal for enjoyment, education, and access to the spiritual world. We need to keep reminding each other of that.

My father was a WWII veteran. On our home bookshelf were three small paperback books that contained photographs, and especially black outlines, of Japanese and German warplanes. The books were distributed to the military to help them identify enemy planes from the ground. What would be the appearance of bombers and fighter planes—a helpful, and perhaps lifesaving, set of images.

Purposeful listening is another way of being tuned in to our surroundings; perhaps God has something to say to us at that moment. 

The preacher’s topic was forgiveness, and it included comments on how much anger surrounds us in the world today. He asked the congregation to reflect on the anger in their own lives. He reported later how “. . . the flood gates opened.” People seemed relieved to have the opportunity to name something they had kept hidden and that was destroying them. He noted that not all anger is negative, that we correctly speak of “righteous anger.” However, we all also recognize plain old anger, jealous anger, vindictive and self-righteous anger. We know the difference.

Another helpful observation is to watch people’s hands. In the hospital (and other places) hands might be clenched in pain and anxiety or they might be open and willing. I am consistently impressed by how many patients are willing to take my hand while we have conversation or pray together. Those are holy moments.

In a similar category and certainly not limited to the hospital, pay attention to people’s tears. Who knows where tears originate or what triggers their release? Each of us has been speaking to another person and realized that there were tears mounting in the other’s eyes. What did we just say? What memory did we just touch?

In reverse, do you always understand why tears come to your eyes? Occasionally, we understand it is a sad movie or book. But there are other select situations when something deeply inside us moves and our eyes moisten. This is not weakness; it is being human.

Whether we are watching for birds, eyes, hands, words, or tears, we are gaining information about the creation and how it operates. We are called as God’s followers to observe and respond with patience and compassion. It is what Jesus did.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain