It was the third anniversary of his passing, and Kate reminisced on David and their last meeting with a smile. At that point, they could barely hold a conversation, but she held on to his hands tightly, and to him, it felt like she was transferring some sort of strength to his failing kidney. He knew his time was coming soon, but he remained unfazed, spreading his cheer and positivity around the room.
As she was leaving that day, she remembered his last words, whispered through his pain:
“Thank You, Katie, you have no idea how much I needed this.” And even though she had no idea what she had specifically done, she smiled. Years later, she understood perfectly.
A quote by Monica Brand, “we do not love others best through harried attempts to meet everyone’s needs, but rather when we are fully present to those around us” comes to mind here. Monica could not have given me a better opening quote than this.
Have you made your situation into a cocoon? How often do you make people around you know that they matter? And no, I’m not referring to just words but through your actions.
People who have made the biggest impact in my life didn’t do the things that one would term “mighty.” On the contrary, they did the simple things that seemed magnificent to me.
I follow a charity foundation on Instagram. One day, a lady appealed for hand-me-downs on the page because her clothes had become nothing to write home about. A particular comment caught my attention and moved me as I scrolled through:
“I need new clothes, but send me a direct message so we can look through the ones I have, and you can have some.”
This was someone who didn’t have much but was ready to share from the little she had. That day, I learnt something new about touching lives and climbing out of my self-constructed “me-me” pit.
Make time for people and touch their lives in your little way. Do not wait for the big stuff. I mean, what is your criterion for labeling something as big anyway?
Your presence can be the best gift you could give, as Kate gave David. Alternatively, selfless gifts such as that which the stranger on the charity’s page offered.
It could also come through encouraging words, and Aimee Mullins explains this in more depth. According to Aimee, “all you need is one person to show you the epiphany of your power, and you are off.”
This goes to show that when you believe in people and encourage them to be the absolute best they can be, then you have given them wings to soar. It takes a lot of strength to look beyond your problems and be there for other people.
Finally, while I am still a work-in-progress, I am learning every day to see the pains of others even when life itself is giving me knocks and kicks. And of course, I still make mistakes along the way and retreat into the “me-me” pit sometimes. However, the words of Jackie Robinson which go: “The measure of a life isn’t what that life accomplishes, but rather the impact that life has on others” brings me back to factory settings.
Please, keep a date with me next Wednesday by noon. I would love to know what you think about this piece. To upload your comments, kindly input “admin” as the username and password if a prompt requests for this. This shows for first-time comments only. Thank you.
Love,
Diane.
