The IMPACT You Didn’t Know You Were Making.

In 2011, my husband and I decided to give up our gym memberships to save some money. So, I started running in my neighborhood.

Let me just say, I had NEVER been a runner and was pretty darn sure I despised running. But to my utter amazement…I actually began to look forward to it. I would run in the rain, in the snow, and even early in the morning to avoid the heat.

It became a meditative time for me. An introspective escape for 30 minutes where no one could disturb me.

Over time I created a route that took me through the streets of my neighborhood, in a big loop that took about half an hour to complete.

Eventually I started seeing the ‘regulars’ that were out and about at the same time I would come out to run.

After one particular run, I was so moved that I came home and wrote this.

Every morning when I go running, I see an older gentleman sitting in a chair in the little courtyard in front of his home. I smile and wave as I pass by. We’ve never spoken. I honestly don’t know if he even speaks English.

What I do know is that he recognizes me as I come running by in my black exercise outfit.

But the last couple of times I’ve gone out, he hasn’t been there. I think about him as I approach his block, and check for him in his little square of concrete, but am disappointed each time I find him missing.

Is he on vacation? Not feeling well? I hope he is ok.

As I continued on my run one day, my concern for this stranger got me thinking about the impact the smallest moments can have in our lives. As one person touches another, their light is ignited, and so on.

I wondered, how many people could be affected by a gesture as small as smiling at someone passing by on the street ?

I know for me, that warm feeling was surely passed along to others in my day.

A thank you card I decided to write, the chore I decided to let go in favor of playing a game with my kids, the conversation I didn’t want to have, but did because a friend was in need.

A gesture that is extended in the briefest of moments, can become an inspiration to someone else that gets passed along to another in their lives.

Most of the time, I do these things without thinking much about them, more as habit than with intention.  I have to give credit to my mother for instilling this quality in me.

At times in my life I have found it equally charming, and dare I say …annoying… to witness. ‘Ugh, why is she talking to that woman, can’t we just go! Why does she have to sound so chipper and say good morning to every person we pass on the street!’

But as I reflect on the happiness brought to me by the old man’s single smile, and the sense of loss I have felt in missing it, I see that the problem was mine, not hers.

In my mothers genuine offerings of her loving spirit, she sparks lights wherever she goes. And she has always been this way.

I picture people lighting up as they are touched, and watch as the light is spread to the next person, and the next person, and the next person. The image is magnificent.  Now picture this happening over a day, months, years. I can’t fathom the light she has sent out.

You don’t have to try to change the world, but you can make a little extra room on the sidewalk for a woman pushing a stroller, or give a compliment to the new mom who you can tell is trying to get her ‘groove’ back.

You can spend an extra moment for some idle chitchat with someone who clearly is in need of some attention, and never know the immense ways it could touch them and inspire other thoughtful moments.

Remember that it may not be insignificant to the person its extended to. It could make all the difference in their day and even lives.

I’m sure the man who sits in his courtyard doesn’t know how much he’s touched mine.