I read something on one of my favorite blogs that resonated with me.  The author, said:

You never know when that story you tell, or that truth you share, or that memory you honor, or that leap of faith you take impacts those around you. You are changing people’s lives.

And I started to think…it’s true.  Each of our actions changes the lives of others, no matter how small the way.

It’s easy to see this when someone else changes your own life in a way either tiny or profound.  You know when a new friend walks into your life and changes the way you look at the world.  You know when an old friend invites you out just when you needed her friendship the most.  You know when a stranger’s compliment makes you smile on an otherwise unfortunate day.  You know when someone changes your life, your day, your moment in time.

But do you also pay attention to when your own actions change the lives of others? Do you ever wonder if they do?  If having coffee with a friend meant more to them than you realized, if taking time to send a thoughtful email made someone’s day that much easier, if the simple act of answering the phone was exactly what that person needed?

Sure, sometimes these simple acts can be taken at face value.  But, you never know.  You never know when someone needs your kindness, your thoughtfulness, your friendship, your attention.  You just never know.

And so I’m taking this message into my day:

I am changing people’s lives.

I am making a difference.

What I do matters.

(What you do matters,too.  More than you know.)

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