When I was on the high school football team (hard to believe, I know) I remember a coach yelling “Keep your head on a Swivel!”  The idea was to be aware of your surroundings at all times, so you didn’t get clobbered.  If you were looking too closely at a running back, you might not see the pulling guard coming to drill you. 

You never wanted to hear, “Hasseman, you need to keep your head on a swivel!”  It probably meant you were on your back.

I hear that voice in my head now, but in a different way.  Whenever I go to a public place, I “keep my head on a swivel.”  But now it’s not because I am concerned with a pulling guard.  As an adult, it’s because I want to be aware of others around me. 

I want to make sure I am not stepping in front of another person. 

I try to look and make sure I am not bumping someone else out of the way.

Mainly, I am trying to “keep my head on a swivel” so that I am not making MY priority the only important task in the universe. 

We all get busy (especially during the holidays).  But I think the world might be a bit of a better place if we all kept “our head on a swivel” to look out for the needs of others…not just our own.