No, I don't mean like you're famous and you keep getting stopped at the grocery store, even though you're wearing your super-expensive, dollar-store knock-off sunglasses. I don't even mean when you've done something pretty cool, and people are saying, "Well done." Nope. I mean it in the Avatar sense. The whole "I see you" deal. Let me back-track a little.
I'm a runner. A few days a week, I go to a local YMCA to run on the track, the other days I pull out the jogger stroller and the boys and I hit the pavement. But, this track ... twelve laps is a mile. I run seven miles. You do the math; the result is too hideous for my mind to dwell on. Anyway. I love running. It's my total zone-out refuge from reality. It's where half the scenes of Thunder were imagined. It's my "me" time. And it's where I get some of the greatest lessons ever. Today I was running, and a dear lady was being helped around the track for therapy exercise. As I'm coming around a straightaway (okay, the track is so small, even the straightaways are curved—but, whatever), and this lady turns around, looks me right in the eyes, waves at me, and smiles the most beautiful smile ever. And it was one of those moments, where I was allowed to "see" her back. I felt like she was saying, "Here, I have some love. You can have it—take it and do something with it. This is your opportunity." I rounded the corner, and the moment was over.
But, it wasn't over—not really. This gift was inside of me and it made me think. If every day, we could just make that connection with one other person, whether it's a spouse, child, friend, or stranger on the track .... Just take a moment, and see each other. Make someone smile and feel alive inside of themselves. Make them feel worthwhile. Today I was recognized as a fellow human being on a journey. And I felt fantastic.
So, I'm challenging you. Get out there and recognize someone. Let them see who you are and share in that moment of joint self-worth. It could make the world beautiful.
