“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” — Fred Rogers
I love this. It reminds me that not only do I impact people who are on my radar (Climbing Daddy, The Kid, friends, colleagues, students), but also people who might not be on my radar (cashiers, students not in my classes, people around me in public spaces). And also people who aren’t so much on my radar, but I’m on theirs (some acquaintances, perhaps).
I wrote about the “strangers” side of this before, but I always enjoy a reminder. And also a reminder that I don’t want to be the drain on someone else’s day, if it’s avoidable (while still maintaining boundaries). Be the light. Still working on it.
The other day you were climbing a route at the rock gym that would have been hard for you at one time. When the lady next to you said you’re her hero and one days she’ll climb that … and you encouraged her and later when she was attempting it and you encouraged and gave her pointers … and she made it! Like that.
Of course the person doesn’t always speak up and you don’t always get to see the impact you made 🙂
Yes! Like that. (That was sucha cool exchange for both of us, I think.)