This morning I saw the story of a woman, a former radio engineer, who fell ill and nearly died while being treated.  Upon her release from the hospital she returned to the store where she constantly dropped off treats and goodies and the story expanded to how she had done this for other organizations, offices, and businesses as well and these places all shared how this woman was the one who took care of them.  She was always uniquely herself and sharing what she could with the world.  She said that when you judge others you miss the good stuff and she simply is herself.  She is her own person, allowing life to unfold as it should and she is changing lives one cookie at a time as her daughter says.  I spent so much of my life believing that in order to have any real impact, it was about quantity—how many people I could reach, how much I put out there, how much I received, how much work I did.  I forgot the impact of the pebble in the pond and sought to be the one who scooped up the entire pond. 

We don’t always hear the stories of the ones who initiate the spark, but they are just as responsible as those carrying the torch.  This story demonstrates the importance of knowing ourselves so well that we do what we must no matter how insignificant it may seem to others.  Small acts add up and they really do have an impact.  We may not be meant to impact every person we meet, but the people we do impact will potentially get enough to be of some impact to others as well.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a cookie or a word or a shoulder or just helping someone pick up—all of those things make a difference.  With the losses I’ve faced lately, I can tell you the seemingly little things have absolutely had a huge impact on my life, and the weight of them being gone is profound.  Sometimes all it takes is a steady heartbeat with us, a presence, someone willing to listen, a shared meal.  As someone who spent a lot of time pushing through and thinking those things weren’t necessary, I can tell you they are.

The passion we feel for things, especially the passion we can’t explain, is what guides us.  I’ve let the chaos run wild for too long and I love stories like this because there is steadiness in trusting who we are.  That is the solid ground we come back to: the essence of who we are.  I spent too much time trying to stop chaos and loss when I should have been working on stabilizing myself and centering myself in who I am.  It doesn’t matter what other people think, we will have the impact on the right ones and the right people will be brought into our lives.  The only thing we need to be is ourselves because that is what gives us the power to get through whatever this universe throws at us, it helps us learn the lessons, it helps us determine what is next because, as I spoke about the other day, we are never really “there.”  There is no “there.”  All we have is this time, this journey and we aren’t meant to be anyone else but ourselves.