Showing up for all the moments

When I originally posted this last July, I received a comment not specifically in response to my question about what little moments changed your life, but about how we show up for other people, especially when we don’t really know them. 

Matthew said, “...your post encouraged me to reflect on the idea that we never really know what role someone is going to play in our lives in the moment that we meet them. With that in mind, how do we choose to show up for the people who enter our lives?”

I thought a lot about his comment before I responded. What if I had chosen not to engage in that first encounter with the people I mention in my reflection? My life would be so different now. But at the same time, we don’t always have the capacity or energy to lean into every person we meet. We can certainly treat every person with kindness and dignity, but that isn’t the same as working to make a meaningful connection. 

Ultimately, my response included the question: “Maybe we have to trust that we will either feel the pull to connect deeper or we won't and that's the sign we need?”

The best we can do is be present, treat people kindly, and follow our intuition about the time or energy we spend engaging with new people. That presence and kindness might be just the thing someone needs in that moment. It could be the thing that changes the trajectory of their day. And that would be enough to make a little bit of history. 

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“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.” 

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

We are making history with every moment of our lives. One aspect of beauty in this world is that any given interaction could have a profound impact on the other person, leaving a mark they will carry with them forever. One of the sorrows in life is that we may never know. 

Call it the butterfly effect or ripples in time but we all have this power and likely don’t harness it enough. From a smile given to a weary stranger, to a note of encouragement, to making a needed connection, we can make a difference with the smallest actions. 

I think about the introductions people have made for me, not knowing where they would lead and how my life was forever changed by those connections. The simple “I think you two should meet” that turns into an incredible friendship and working relationship that kept me going when I was sure I should quit consulting and go get a “real job”. 

Or those moments that were so seemingly insignificant at the time—the stranger a friend and I met at a party who we made fun of for his obsession with orange push pops. How could we have known he would eventually be one of our best friends and a vital and stabilizing presence in our lives?

Every moment is history-making, whether or not we have the time or capacity to see it that way as it’s happening. History, by its very definition, is seen in hindsight. The only thing we can do is be as present as we can to our experiences so we can reflect back on the moments that do make the difference.

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Add your Echo:

What simple moment changed your life in a way you could never have anticipated? 

Or… how do you show up and engage with new people in a meaningful way?

(Reply or tap the heart to share your thoughts)