THIS happened on Valentines Day, a few months ago: I had just finished my jog and was sitting on a bench in the park, when a young girl, who had also been jogging came and sat next to me.
“Happy Valentines Day!” she said and I politely wished her the same. “You run very fast,” I told her, just to make polite conversation. “I run, so that I can forget my problems,” she said. “You should run and enjoy the beauty of nature!” I told her.
She looked at me, a tear flowing down her check and then started talking. She told me about a serious problem in her house, where her father hated the fact she had been born a girl, “He wanted a boy,” she said, “And I have been working hard to win his approval all my life, and now I want to come suicide, because I don’t think I can!” I knew I had to talk to her and I did, for nearly half an hour.
I didn’t see her after that for a month, and was worried. Last week she came back to the park, “Thanks for that talk,” she said, “You changed my thinking!”
I realized that those we touch everyday, we can give a little of ourselves. Did you know that your money likely has different traces of something or other on it? A study revealed that a full 78% of the currency circulating in Miami and other major US cities carries trace amounts of cocaine.
They were only looking for cocaine, but I wonder what else might be found on the notes? Fast-food products no doubt, such as French fry oil, mustard, soft drink residue and coffee.
And how about face cream or lipstick from purses and lint from pockets? I’ve seen everything from ink to oil on money that has come my way, and more indistinguishable stains than I care to remember.
And if they look closely enough, they can even tell something about where that money has been! To the store. To the beach. Even hidden beneath a mattress. Just about anything that comes into contact with money leaves a bit of itself behind.
Then, when the bills rub up against each other in a wallet or billfold, they share contaminates. Everything the notes touch is changed, however slightly. So it is with us.
Everybody you and I speak to, rub shoulders with or even smile at…is changed. These changes can be helpful or hurtful, depending on our interaction. And even little changes can make a difference. No one is insignificant in this regard.
Bette Reeves said, “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been bitten by a mosquito.” I will surely affect everybody I encounter – one way or another. And they will affect me. I will leave a bit of myself behind, and take a little piece of them with me. Everybody.
There is something awe-inspiring about the influence we have on one another. In your daily contacts, what will you leave behind, and what will you take with you? I feel so happy when I see her everyday in the park, and have noticed a new confidence in her..!
