just like you can never love a person you have never met, you can never forget a person who you have truly loved. not everybody we meet stays in our lives forever. just occasional special souls stay for that long. i was asked a question today that made me ponder.
“how different would your life be if you hadn’t crossed paths with _____?”
think of a couple of people who have rocked your world, … caused a big impact to your life, … melted your heart, … you name it (you know the significance of this). can you imagine if they had never entered your life? how different your life would be. how different you would be without them and their impact.
and it didn’t have to be a long time for it to be significant to your life. it might have been a brief one-time moment in passing or you might have known this soul for many years. it matters not the length of time it was. what matters more was the value that contact added to your life.
we grow from each contact. we are, in part, a combination of those who have impacted our lives up until this point. each rubs off on us in a way and we are forever changed.
each special soul who affects our lives gives us a gift. and sometimes we don’t realize what that gift is until much later. sometimes it is an experience gained that enables us to help comfort another when they go through something similar.
sometimes they just melt your heart because you needed to open up about something, let something go, or feel something finally. it surprises me how my touch tolerance has changed since childhood … from being one who cringed when someone would touch me to now at age 39, … one of my most favorite gestures is a warm enveloped snuggly tender hug with someone i care about.
for it is not your coldness that makes others want to reach out to you and warm you up. it is your warmth that makes others want to reach out to you and offer comfort.
i am grateful for the souls who have crossed my path along the way and touched my life in a profound or tender manner.
peace, kathleen
“would you stay together if all you had in common was the past?”
Beautiful post.
My answer to the last question, I think you know. If that’s all we had, no. (not we as in you and me, but… you know)
Wonderfully written. I have always loved the quote “Some people come into our lives and quickly leave. Others stay a while and leave footprints on our heart. And we are never, ever the same again.”
Great post. I can think of a couple of people who brought serious pain to my life, but I am the person I am now because of the experiences I had. And I kind of like me. :0)
How appropriate for me this post coming right now. Sometimes how a person touches you can also change from good to bad, but always you can take what you learned and grow from it. ‘this is how not to treat someone…’ Thanks for being my friend and providing me with one of those ‘big impact’ moments.
WOW…great post. It got me to thinking about lots of people who helped shape me. And believe me, I was a pretty rough lump of clay in the old days! Wouldn’t say I’m finished yet, but…well, at least I’ve gotten shaped and molded over the past *mumblemumblemumble* years of my life…
This really just puts it all into perspective, Beany.
Thank you. ♥
We never know what effect we will have on people. I hope that I leave people better than I found them.
hi sue bear — first! hehe. thanks for saying so. yes, i know. i know what you mean.
hi amber — thank you. and me, too .. that’s also one of my favorites.
hi ashlee — i know what you mean. some of the toughest painful experiences because of certain others have helped shaped us, too. and i like you, too. you always show a kind heart full of warm fuzzies to me .. a trait i truly appreciate and seek in others.
hi TARa — awh, thanks for saying this and for everything sweet you have told me these last couple days. thanks for the phone call today. you continue to make a positive impact in my life.
hi jim — thank you for saying this. i am glad i crossed your path man. you have a sweet heart.
hi heather — too kind. thanks sweetie.
hi jane — agree. something we all work on to be better about.
peace tonight all, kathleen
I am so glad that it was mentioned that we can have either a powerful POSITIVE effect or a powerful NEGATIVE effect. But ALL of these effects are for our good and our growth. I like the way Dr. John Demartini puts it: Who learns most? The person who drives BY the car accident or the person IN the car accident? Pain is a powerful teacher. Unpleasant but useful.
Glad to be able to come here for the warm fuzzy uplifting kind of friendship!
((((((((hugs)))))))
Wendy Wenderilla (I commented on your previous post too just now. Just sayin’ …. in case you wanna go read it.)
Very good thought provoking post. In just a few days one of my very best friends {and her 3 daughters} is coming to stay a month with us. She is one of those people that I’m so glad crossed my path. We had both moved here with in months of each other and became instant friends. I wouldn’t want to imagine life without having met her….. Great post, thanks!
Each life that touches ours for good!
That was beautiful, Kathleen.
I have had those people (jewels) in my life, and I’m so grateful. I hope that I can BE that for someone every now and then.
hi wendy bendy — absolutely agree. and some of the best things that i cherish … they were the hardest challenges. thanks for the sweet note. **hugs** ps. i always know when someone has commented anywhere on my blog because i receive emails for each one. so comment anywhere you like; i will see all your gems.
hi carrie — thank you. and you are going to have a blast reconnecting in person again. enjoy yourself.
hi PJ — awh, but you do PJ. you do.
night night, kathleen
Just as the winds are unpredictable … so is our path in life. One person, or one small occurance can create a complete and different destination. I think that just as we want only good things to happen in our existance, some of the bad things my have steered us to a greater love and acceptance.
Angels walk amoung us in many ways, some seen and some never felt. The moment we call “now” is really a product of all those that walked in and out of our life journey.
hi speedy/eric — beautiful insightful and tender thoughts. i love this. thanks for touching my day today. happy friday, beany
Beautifully written Kathleen! It goes well with my ‘ULTIMATE’ quote… “Every person God puts into our lives, Every experience that He gives us, Is the PERFECT preparation for the future only HE can see.”
It is so true that each and EVERY person that we come in contact with impacts our life in some way. Everything has a purpose…whether big or small.
As a teacher of students with emotional/behavioral disabilities, I wonder all the time who they would be had they simply met different parents or other people who would have completely changed their outlooks on life, or helped them develop their talents, or simply let them know that they are treasures. Knowing that one person can make a difference in the life of a child, I try to do that. I have a recent post about making a difference, in my Cre8buzz blog…
hi crystal — good one, too. thanks for sharing that quote as well.
hi half-past — good point. thanks for saying so.
peace, kathleen
I am printing this out and using it for a journal prompt. What a beautiful post, thank you!
hi hostage — awh, thanks for telling me that. night, kathleen