“Its much more important to be interested than to be interesting” jane fonda.

Jane has been irrelevant to me my entire life.

Ok. Maybe better said she has been on the periphery of what I truly care about.

But. I read this quote and all of a sudden she became relevant to me.  She said something that not only made sense but was also thought provoking. And that was big in my relationship with good ole Jane.

Have I always agreed with what she has said or done throughout her life? Nope.

But when she says something like this I admit I think.  And rethink her actions. And just think in general about anyone in the public (celebrity like) actions.

Because I admit.  It typically drives me a little nuts when some celebrity makes a big stink about something – and it feels naïve and slightly out of touch. But with this quote from Jane it really makes me rethink a lot of things. And a lot of thoughts I have had about celebrities … and maybe all of the seemingly naïve things I have heard and just shook my head over.

Why?

They were interested.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

They took time out of their wacky world and paid attention to something.

Does it sometimes seem misdirected and maybe slightly out of touch to every day people and our lives?  Absolutely.

But.

Maybe it shouldn’t be judged that way.

Maybe it should be better judged in that they were interested.

That is Jane’s point. And it is a fucking good point.

They said or did something.  Odd or good or misdirected or right on target … doesn’t really matter in the end as I think about it … because they chose to do something.

Jane has really made me think.

Really think.

“They were interested.”

Wow. It makes me begin thinking maybe I was the naïve one. That I was the one who had the wrong perspective. That maybe I have been missing the real point all along.

Don’t I continuously suggest people should step up for what they care about? (Yup).

It is better to be interested than interesting.

That, my friends, is a big thought. And, yeah, I have elected to ignore the whole listening and selflessness aspect of that quote to focus on “stepping up” because that is the truly enlightening part.

Because in the end it comes down to several things.

Jane has always been a lightning rod for issues.

And some people are more so than others.

And we may disagree with them.

And we may think they are misguided idiots.

But we should all recognize that no matter what … that they are interested.

Interested in ‘whatever.’

And that counts for something.

And, in fact, I think it counts for a lot.