KEEP BEING PRESENT EACH DAY
There have been times when you have brought a sense of hope to someone's life without even trying. You thought that all you were doing was just being a good friend, a friendly neighbor, or a kind acquaintance. You thought that you were just going through your daily routine as usual, and because no one said anything, you didn't think about the influence you may have had.
But I hope you know that when you were a good friend, you were not "just" being a friend. Even if it came naturally to you, you were still being present in a way that made a difference.
There might be times when you try to be present for someone, only for them to not seem to really care. There might be situations where you did your best to be the person they could "go deeper" with, and you were left feeling like you were taken for granted.
In those spaces, you are free to feel what you need to feel. Opening your heart in this way is a vulnerable act. And it's also courageous because when you decide to pour your heart into a relationship, there is no way of knowing if your efforts will be noticed.
And if you happen to be in a space of processing something like this, I hope you can know this to be true as well: there have also been times when your presence, your love, your kindness has made a difference in ways you didn't even know. There have been times when you thought you were just being "you" and nothing else, when in reality, who you were was creating an environment where someone else felt seen, safe, and hopeful.
So keep being present each day, even if you do not feel like you are doing anything special. Keep making room to breathe deeply right where you are, knowing that maybe, in some moment you aren't even thinking about, the deep breath you took inspired someone else to do the same. Keep clinging to the small flickers of hope that you find, knowing that they have the power to catch on in more ways than you realize. Keep trusting that in between the moments where you're thinking about growing and changing, there is this space where you are just being who you are, and that has more impact than you know.
More in this week's series called "Sowing Seeds, Making Connections", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.
More tomorrow…
Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols
