--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're paying attention to human…" description: "\"If you're paying attention to human interactions - to the gap between who we are and who we think we are, or the gap between what happened and what we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/roy-kesey-30889_attention_if-you-re-paying-attention-to-human-inte_1269087.jpg" --- # If you're paying attention to human interactions - to the… ![“If you're paying attention to human interactions - to the gap between who we are and who we think we are, or the gap between what happened and what we remember - you're going to end up thinking (obliquely or otherwise) about what it means to act ethically, and I think that's all to the good.” quote by Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/roy-kesey-30889_attention_if-you-re-paying-attention-to-human-inte_1269087.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/roy-kesey-30889_attention_if-you-re-paying-attention-to-human-inte_1269087.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b0/roy-kesey-30889_attention_if-you-re-paying-attention-to-human-inte_1269087.jpg) > “If you're paying attention to human interactions - to the gap between who we are and who we think we are, or the gap between what happened and what we remember - you're going to end up thinking (obliquely or otherwise) about what it means to act ethically, and I think that's all to the good.” [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how observing discrepancies between self‑perception, reality, and memory prompts ethical reflection and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Noticing gaps between who we are, what happens, and what we recall leads to ethical thinking. Key Takeaway Use observed gaps as a catalyst for ethical self‑examination. Themes self‑awareness ethics perception memory personal growth Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - team meetings - educational workshops - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive dissonance ethical reflection self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile personal ethical standards with societal pressures? - What role does memory play in shaping moral decisions? A Different Perspective The focus on gaps may overlook structural factors influencing behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Act Ethically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/act-ethically-4061664/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Ethically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethically/) [Ethically Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethically-think-1786054/) [Gaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaps/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Interaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interaction/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Pay attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-attention/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-you/) [Remembers you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembers-you/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Obliquely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-obliquely-4061665/) [Who we are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-we-are/) ## Related quotes > [Ethically, I think pretty much every code of ethics for doctors suggests that they should not be in an interrogation room, particularly if there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/ethically-i-think-pretty-much-every-code-of-ethics-for-doctors/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [First, there is the law. 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None can prove your existence, because his existence must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/you-must-realize-first-of-all-that-you-are-the-proof-of-everything/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Make me remember you like you remember me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-weeknd/make-me-remember-you-like-you-remember-me/) [The Weeknd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-weeknd/) > [ \[Erwin Rommel\] explained why in short words, what the two generals' message and then he explained his position and he gave some reason for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manfred-rommel/erwin-rommel-explained-why-in-short-words-what-the-two-generals/) [Manfred Rommel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manfred-rommel/) > [Even to the sage who's doing Sahaja Samadhi, the great guru, I'd say: "Hey buddy, you know, I like the robes and everything, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/even-to-the-sage-who-s-doing-sahaja-samadhi-the-great-guru-i-d-say/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose Once there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-m-so-afraid-to-love-you-but-more-afraid-to-loose-clinging-to-a-past/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) ## More by Roy Kesey > [Some writers keep a tighter rein on that than others. For short story collections I'm definitely in the loose-rein camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/some-writers-keep-a-tighter-rein-on-that-than-others-for-short-story/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [What I like about organizing things that way is that each story gets nearly full reign over its own space, but all of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/what-i-like-about-organizing-things-that-way-is-that-each-story-gets/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [“Reynaldo says that the pacazo is nothing but an uncommonly large iguana. 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Which means that I've spent months playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/for-whatever-reason-thus-far-it-s-been-important-to-me-not-to-write/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [“The birds are catching fire again. I keep shouting up to them, Fly lower, fly lower! They never listen. They’re dropping all around us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/the-birds-are-catching-fire-again-i-keep-shouting-up-to-them-fly/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [The most basic organizing principle was pretty straightforward, and is frankly pretty common: the shorter of what are by my lights the two most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/the-most-basic-organizing-principle-was-pretty-straightforward-and-is/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [I start every first draft with voice rather than theme or image or even character as such, so it isn't like I'm ever rubbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/i-start-every-first-draft-with-voice-rather-than-theme-or-image-or/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [We should absolutely be concerned with ethical questions - to exactly the same degree as everyone else. It's never my intention to sneak any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/we-should-absolutely-be-concerned-with-ethical-questions-to-exactly/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [You know how some people say that they can only read one story a day from this or that collection? If that's simply the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/you-know-how-some-people-say-that-they-can-only-read-one-story-a-day/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [Realism's anxieties are not my anxieties, but I think I've had its tools close at hand all along. It may be that I'm reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/realism-s-anxieties-are-not-my-anxieties-but-i-think-i-ve-had-its/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [When you spend so much time trying to father well, and failing, and trying again, and hopefully failing better, it's going to seep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/when-you-spend-so-much-time-trying-to-father-well-and-failing-and/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [I didn't intentionally emplace the raw material needed for political/allegorical readings into any of the first drafts, but sooner or later I saw it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/i-didn-t-intentionally-emplace-the-raw-material-needed-for-political/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [“So far he’s never been bit, but there was once, deer hunt, climbing a bluff and he’d slipped, rolled down a shale slide into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/so-far-he-s-never-been-bit-but-there-was-once-deer-hunt-climbing-a/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) [Explore all 17 Roy Kesey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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