The Noticer~ Book Review

Perspective~ From Latin~ past participle of perspicere : to look through, see clearly, from per- through + specere to look. A mental view or prospect

Andy Andrews’ inspirational new book The Noticer was my introduction to his writing, and a first rate first read. He tells the story of a small town filled with individuals whose lives are changed for the better due to the interest and observations of a man named Jones, whose favorite phrase is “Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.”

How true that we all too often are looking at matters through a microscope, when we would be better backing off so that we could see the “Big Picture” clearly. Like the blind men and the elephant, we sometimes need someone to help us see our circumstances from a bird’s-eye view, and that is what Jones does throughout this narrative. Like Robert Frost, in The Road Not Taken, he points out that the choices we make affect not only our immediate circumstances, but those of future generations.

In a society where everyone seems to question the motives of others, but seldom search their own souls, are quick to cast blame, but anxious to avoid it, Andy Andrews has posed an introspective question: “What is it about me that other people would change if they could.” Jones suggests that the answer and one’s decision to act on that answer, or not, can be a source of magnifying one’s focus on the positive or the negative in one’s life.

Of course, the hope is that people choose to take positive steps forward, and make a positive impact on their lives, families, communities, states, countries, and our world. One way to do so, is to check out The Noticer Project, and take a little bit of time to publicly “notice” those who have had a positive impact on your life. It may be a small step, but sometimes that is all it takes to make something good happen.

*I am a member of Thomas Nelson’s Book Review Blogger program http://brb.thomasnelson.com/