A Really Big Deal

I’m convinced we don’t fully understand how important we are - how each of us, by virtue of being alive, impacts so many others in the midst of common everyday life.  In fact, I see this as a trickle-down effect.  I influence you, and you influence him, and he influences her, and maybe something that someone said or did in a long sequence of interactions ends up in my lap – or yours.  It goes on and on. 

In fact, a void would exist if you or I (or anyone) weren’t here.  Someone could argue that those who pass away are quickly forgotten – which may be more-or-less true or false in a particular instance.  I maintain that their existence was not an accident or coincidence, and while living on earth they filled a spot only they could fill.  A spot that rubbed elbows with all the other spots around it, a spot that had the potential to radiate for miles and years, and even eternity.

Here’s what I think: unless we’re hermits we rub off on each other constantly, for better or worse.

It struck me today that this innate interconnectedness is most obvious when a new baby is born.  Instantly everything revolves around the babe.  Everyone’s focus enlarges to include this fragile, tiny, new little person who carries the influence of royalty and the impact of a giant.

How many royal, gigantic people (theoretically, not practically) do we know?  And how many others observe you or me with more than a casual effect?  In reality, each of us is a Really Big Deal.  This is something for me to ponder in the wake of Lydia’s birth.