It's you I like

I've been really pondering the idea that I am far more important than I imagine. I leave a piece of me wherever I go and with all those I come into contact with.  It kind of sounds like a self help book, I know, but there really is a lot to this.  It is truly fascinating and something I try to remember more frequently.  The small and simplest of things that I do could have long and far reaching impacts that I may never know.  If I step outside intentionally to simply smile or say hello to a neighbor, there is no telling what impacts that may have. If consistently acting lovingly towards my spouse is the tiniest of pebbles being tossed into the ocean, there is no telling how far the ripples may reach.
Of course, I will convince myself that it does not matter and that it is insignificant.  It is this argument of my own mind that often keeps relationships at a distance and community from happening.  My importance then, based on this, can be directly related to how much love I am willing to give.  How much peace and love am I really willing to dispense?  I strive to intentionally (there's that word again!) place myself into situations where this not only becomes second nature, but a necessity.  Allowing this "deep part" of us to come out is exponentially contagious.  I long for the evils to never have the power to stifle what Fred calls the part of all of us that is needed for human survival.

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”
― Fred Rogers