The smallest gesture. The shortest phrase. The briefest silence. Matter.
I've been thinking a lot about how we change each other in small and big ways, just by being there.
Just by listening. Just by making someone feel real. Heard. Like they matter.
I think most times, we're completely unaware of the profound ways in which we shape each others lives every day. I still remember a comment a teacher left for me on a paper I wrote in the tenth grade. It's likely he wrote the very same thing on everyone's paper. But at that moment, on that day, they were words I needed to settle in my heart. They gave me a sense of importance I had never felt before. They made me feel like I, and my words, had worth.
Just a phrase, that's all, made me turn right instead of left that day.
Of course it works in the opposite direction, too. I remember another comment on a paper, freshman year in college, that confused and silenced me for weeks. I _still_ catch myself, as I'm previewing a post like this, asking if I've done what my instructor criticized me of doing before I click "post." Again, just two words. Two. Have lived with me for 25+ years, shaping how I write.
There are more. More good. More maybe bad. Tiny moments with people that left an impression in my heart, my brain, my being. They come in smiles. Whispers. A hand on my lower back, pushing me forward. A laugh. An elbow to my side. An unexpected hug. Note. Phone call. Snub. Invitation.
Each connection, a change.
Anyway that's what I've been thinking about. How we're often so completely unaware of the deep and lasting ways in which what we say and do impacts each other.
The smallest gesture.
The shortest phrase.
The briefest silence.
Matter.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday morning warm-up:
Describe a brief moment/exchange with someone that changed your life for the better.
Just by listening. Just by making someone feel real. Heard. Like they matter.
I think most times, we're completely unaware of the profound ways in which we shape each others lives every day. I still remember a comment a teacher left for me on a paper I wrote in the tenth grade. It's likely he wrote the very same thing on everyone's paper. But at that moment, on that day, they were words I needed to settle in my heart. They gave me a sense of importance I had never felt before. They made me feel like I, and my words, had worth.
Just a phrase, that's all, made me turn right instead of left that day.
Of course it works in the opposite direction, too. I remember another comment on a paper, freshman year in college, that confused and silenced me for weeks. I _still_ catch myself, as I'm previewing a post like this, asking if I've done what my instructor criticized me of doing before I click "post." Again, just two words. Two. Have lived with me for 25+ years, shaping how I write.
There are more. More good. More maybe bad. Tiny moments with people that left an impression in my heart, my brain, my being. They come in smiles. Whispers. A hand on my lower back, pushing me forward. A laugh. An elbow to my side. An unexpected hug. Note. Phone call. Snub. Invitation.
Each connection, a change.
Anyway that's what I've been thinking about. How we're often so completely unaware of the deep and lasting ways in which what we say and do impacts each other.
The smallest gesture.
The shortest phrase.
The briefest silence.
Matter.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday morning warm-up:
Describe a brief moment/exchange with someone that changed your life for the better.
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