Having an Impact

All of us need to experience, in some way or other, that we – as individuals – matter. That we are being seen, that we are being appreciated and valued. This means that we all strive to have an impact on another person's life, on our community, on the world as a whole.

We usually try to do this by setting high goals for ourselves: We try to stand out from the crowd, or we spend a lot of brainpower trying to come up with the perfect plan to save the world. However, when we focus so much on grand gestures, we often overlook all the small opportunities that come our way in everyday situations, like sharing a smile with a stranger on the street.

Sharing a smile can be a very powerful thing. Holding the gaze of an unfamiliar face and opening-up to them, smiling, not knowing whether they will return the gesture… Exposing myself for two seconds there, letting the other person SEE me, having my guard down…  What a brave and vulnerable thing to do!

This small gesture signals to the other person that I SEE them (they EXIST for me), that I ACKNOWLEDGE them, that they have VALUE to me, that I CHOOSE TO CONNECT with them. And vice versa!

To me, these tiniest of moments of sharing a smile on the street have the power to cultivate a sense of connection and belonging that carries a long way…