Coming into Being through Attentiveness

There are a number of reasons why Heidegger's thought matters to me, but perhaps the central reason is his following key insight: our presence enables the manifestation of the world. In other words, he stresses that

not only are we in direct contact with the people and things of this world, but also that our presence matters for how they are made manifest — how they come into presence — in the full potential that is associated with the sort of beings that they are. This is not our presence in a physical sense, but rather in the sense of how we are engaged as living, experiencing human beings — what Heidegger famously refers to as our “being in the world.” The thought is that our worldly presence matters for how things actually unfold, well beyond any physical or physiological processes that would purport to be the ultimate basis for human activity. So, for example, when we feel that someone is really listening to us, we feel more alive, we feel our true selves coming to the surface — this is the sense in which worldly presence matters. (Lawrence Berger )

People “coming into being” through our attentiveness! Right there, a life calling filled with purpose and wonder.