Although the phase has been attributed to the author of the Sherlock Holmes books, Conan Doyle, it actually first appeared in the Sherlock Holmes movies.
At any rate I was thought of this quote Monday morning when I read a very brief articles in the St. Petersburg Tribune on page 3 entitled, “Pope hails courage of those braving heat”. The article goes on to say “Speaking Sunday from his window, Francis told the crowd n St. Peter’s Square: “I see you are courageous with this heat in the square. A tip of the hat to you.” “Temperatures in Rome this week could hit 100-102F.”
I am perfectly aware that to some this little article inserted among all the “important” news of war, domestic violence, terrorist activity, financial crisis in many countries and, of course, the sports news stories, may not seem very noteworthy. In fact, many might ask why I would even make note of such a minor blip, which will surely not be included in any history books. To those persons I say, “Elementary, my dear Watson”. In my experience the most appreciated gift can often be from those who notice that I am here or that something is going on with me. On Monday morning, I rode the bus to the garage where I had my car towed when it decided for some reasons it needed a bit of a rest. The woman bus driver greeted me warmly. In fact I noticed that she greeted everyone warmly and she looked in the mirror and wished each person getting off at his or her stop a good day. It did not seem as if she was performing a required function, which she had been told to do. It seems as if she was genuinely pleased to see each person and genuinely wanted each person to have a good day. In other words she made a significant difference in my morning and, I suspect, in the morning of most of the passengers on the bus.
The fact that the Pope acknowledged that a number of people were willing to come out to hear and see him, despite the heat, was another example of the fact that this pope seems to be very present and aware of what is going on with people. He seems to genuinely care about what folks are feeling. It never seems to me that he is being patronizing or speaking from his lofty position as pope. Whether he is changing clothes in a South American Burger King bathroom, carrying his own luggage after being elected pope by the college of cardinals, or speaking about the need to focus less on such issues on homosexuality and more on such issues as poverty, Pope Francis seems to be in tune with his own humanness and, thus, with he human needs and conditions which many people whom he sees and greets face every day.
At the risk of sounding like an old man which, of course, I am, I would like to suggest that it is very easy for we humans to get busy and forget to say thank you, please, you are welcome, how are you, I hope that you have a nice day - to not only say these simple phrases but, when possible, embrace others with your eyes or a touch or in some way let them know that they are the only person to whom you are attending this moment. When someone such as the bus driver, the folks at the garage or someone at the gym takes times to notice me – to treat me as if I am important to them – I feel better.
I have often been a participant in business meetings either as a member of a committee, chair of a meeting, or in some other capacity. If someone comes in late I always look for a way to welcome him or her. If I am chairing a meeting this is easy. If I am not chairing I will do my best to greet them with an eyes or a silent hello. If someone has to leave early or appears to be sick I think that is more important than any item on the formal agenda. If assume that what is important to me is important to other folks.
It would be very easy for a CEO, the President of a country or an organization, a clerical person or some well known author or other celebrity to decide that they are much too important and too busy to worry about the “little people” who are there to serve or idolize them. In fact it is often the case with “we little people” that we get too busy to acknowledge the people who are there to serve our needs. Just the other day I was chatting with D who is a bank teller obviously in a management track at a bank. I asked him about his “girlfriend” and he admitted that he was so busy that he just did not have time to pay her as much attention as he used to. He is so “busy” with “important tasks” that he just does not have the time. I asked, “Are you busier than the rest of us?” He had to admit that we was not although I suspect that a part of him really believes that he is.” D is a delightful young man who does go to school as well as work. He also makes time to go to the gym, which is important. He is a very sweet young man, but he runs the risk of becoming “important” and not having time for his partner or other people he loves. On the other hand, I was talking with J at the gym on Monday. He is a schoolteacher. I had not seen him for a month or so. He told me that he, his wife and child had just returned from spending a month in Wisconsin where they also have family. He said that they stayed in a cabin without the Internet, television and only intermittent cell phone service. He also said that they were fine not knowing what was going on with the world although some of his friends were shocked that they could live without constant news. I remembered that when I moved from New Jersey to a small village in rural Alaska, which had only intermittent electrical service, and no television and no regular newspapers. This was long before the age of satellites, which could be used by we civilians. Six months later I was in New York City for a meeting and did not even bother to turn on the television news or read the New York Times. Somehow I had managed to live life without such them and somehow the world had gone on without me. This was a valuable lesson for me.
It is interesting to me that all the research about many of the young men and women who are becoming members of terrorists organization and willing to become martyrs tell us that they love having a sense of purpose and feeling as if they have something to contribute even if it means death.
In talking with CEOs who make millions of dollars, Sister Simone Campbell was told that it was not the money that they were interested in. The money or making more money was an indication that they were “winning”. They wanted to win which meant being more important than others. We all want to feel as if we count. Whether we are a CEO, a store clerk, a gardener, a bus driver or a psychologist we need to know that we count. We may say that we do not care about what others think. We just need to win or be listened to or be more important than or … it all amounts to the same time.
We can continue to spend millions to study what makes we humans happy, about what would make it easier for countries to get along or what it would take for us to be more spiritual. The basic answer is going to be the same. We need to feel important. We need to feel and believe that we have a purpose.
Apparently Pope Francis gets this simple truth. Whether he says it in Spanish, Italian, Latin, English or with his eyes, I think he would say, “It is elementary my dear Watson.”
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