Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
– Leo Buscaglia, author, motivational speaker, and professor, 1924-1998

In the book Reimagining Heartbreak by Shelley Brandon, a morning walk in the forest with five adventure-seeking toddlers turns into a lesson about empathy and connection. Brandon describes a chilly day, with leaves blanketing the ground, obscuring the path, and making the journey more challenging.

She is on a quest for the perfect walking stick, and despite finding plenty of new sticks, none seem to meet her needs, causing frustration and a sense of disconnection from the group. “I am not settled with my stick… I appreciate my chosen stick less and less with every passing second.” Children in the group notice and begin their own search for sticks, “rating their new choice against some secret list of walking stick criteria that only they know.”

The turning point comes when a child offers Brandon a stick, saying, “I found it for you.” She reflects, “She had been watching me struggle to find the stick that checked all the right boxes… But she had been noticing me in my unsatisfying quest for a stick – and that mattered to me.”

She concludes, “I am supposed to be the caregiver. I am supposed to be the one who notices, the one who guides children through their conflicted feelings. But here she is – a toddler – noticing my discontent, offering me something I needed, inviting me back into our shared experience. She notices me, and empathizes with my struggle. My heart breaks open, with gratitude and humility. The mood of my day is redeemed by the simple, beautiful gesture from a child, offering me a stick.”