DAY 31 - CARING FOOTPRINTS
I hope you’re following along as we countdown the final 100 days of 2022 - you can join us anytime. Learn more about the program HERE.
The seemingly little decisions we make every day may impact someone else around us. I’m going to say it again…the seemingly little decisions we make every day may impact someone else around us. I’m not sure we give that enough consideration.
I had the wonderful privilege of spending a day with my oldest daughter at a motivational, women’s empowerment day-long retreat. The true excitement for me was being with her for a Saturday, free from the frenetic lives we both live for a few hours, and being in a positive space.
We were sitting in the conference center together talking when the woman that had the seat next to us sat down looking a bit frazzled. After a quick greeting, she blurted out “Isn’t it amazing that we’re coming to a day of empowering and supporting women and a couple of those very women cut you off in the parking lot and were fighting over parking spaces?” Wow! She was completely right. Clearly, it bothered her. By looking at her expression, I can only surmise that it created a mindset that she now had to overcome to get herself in a place to listen and enjoy a day of finding your best self, encouraging each other, and being able to feel like the wonderful women we’re intended to be.
I think all of us in our hearts want to make a difference. We desire to be inspiring, supportive, and champions for ourselves, our families, and those in our lives. What about the people who cross our paths in the most inconsequential ways? Do we care about how we treat those people? Or do we think to ourselves, “what does it matter I’ll never see them again?” I believe it does matter. We talk a lot about concerns over the carbon foot we leave behind, but what about the “caring” footprint? We have an obligation to make sure that we leave a healthy planet behind for our children, but we don’t talk enough about an equally important part of that health, a community of people who care about each other when no one is looking or keeping track.
Our busy lives and schedules shuffle us from one obligation to the next with little time to slow down and reflect on the impact we have on those around us. Awareness is the first step. Action is the next.
