Some People You Meet for a Day, Others You Meet for Life
We don’t always know the impact that we make on others. Just by being your authentic self, expressing kindness and love you have the power to transform someone’s life for better.
Recently, my sister received a call from someone she knew when she lived in Cincinnati. He wanted her to know that her enthusiasm and zest for life left an impression on him. In 2009, my sister, her husband and I met in Seattle to attend an epic Coldplay concert at the Gorge Amphitheater. It was the concert of a lifetime. The concert started at dusk as the sun was beginning to set. I’ll never forget Chris Martin walking out onto the stage and the crowd bursting into screaming and applause. They played for a solid 3 hours. The band moved their set all throughout the crowd of 24,000 people. We felt like we were right on stage with him. After my sister returned to Cincinnati, she was sharing the details of this magical event with her coworkers. And 11 years later, she received a phone call from one of the men in attendance letting her know that her sharing of that experience left an impression on his life. He was so drawn into the recreation of the event and how lit up my sister was. To us, this was a memorable evening, but not to anyone who wasn’t there (or so we thought). Her storytelling left an impression. He felt something when she shared.
View from my airbnb in chefchaouen, morocco
Some people you meet for a day, others you meet for life.
When I started on my solo travel journey, I became very present to the beautiful, kind souls I would encounter. My motto became: Some people you meet for a day, others you meet for life. Neither is greater than the other. It’s true. I met people from all over the world on a daily basis. I would make instant connections with people over a meal or sitting next to them on a train or on a tour or excursion. I would connect with all of my Airbnb hosts, learn their stories and hold a piece of their kindness in my heart. Some I may never see again, yet I’ll never forget the way they made me feel. I’ll never forget when I was traveling in Morocco, I stayed at the most charming Airbnb with a rooftop overlooking the mountains. When I arrived, the first thing my host asked me was if I had any laundry to wash. I nearly started crying. A simple gesture like offering to wash clothes, was huge to a nomad! He took my entire bag of dirty clothes, washed them, and had them folded and waiting for me. In Peru and Argentina, I had hosts who both went out and purchased blenders after I asked if they had one for use. It was not something they had to do, yet the simple gesture made my stay feel more like home.
And then there was Manuel, a Colombian man who helped me find my Airbnb after I had been wandering the town for over an hour not knowing where it was. I had left my phone behind and had no map or sense of direction. I barely spoke Spanish and there were no street signs. I was in near tears, and Manuel saw me and yelled out to me. To him, he was helping a stranded traveler; to me, it felt like he was an angel sent down from Heaven to guide me.
There were other people I met during my travels that became instant friends and people who are still part of my journey today. And those people have no greater impact than the people that I only met for a day or a moment. All have left lasting impressions on my life.
One gesture of kindness can lead to synchronicity and beautiful alignment.
In 2018, I traveled to Peru for a 10-day meditation retreat. It was my year of unplanned adventures. I only bought one-way tickets and left it up to the Universe to guide me where to go. I knew I wanted to stay in Peru for a bit longer and had no set plans after the retreat. After talking to some people who had traveled in Peru, I decided to head to Colca Canyon, which is one of the largest canyons in the world after the Grand Canyon. I had no ideas of what to do when I got there, I just got on a bus and headed that way. I started looking online to see if there was anything interesting in terms of excursions and saw that there was a zip line that goes across the canyon…sign me up! I went during off-season and ended up being the only person zip lining that day. I got to spend the day with 3 amazing instructors from Argentina and Uruguay. We had so much fun going from course to course. It was exhilarating and the most extreme zip lining I’ve experienced to date. After I completed the course, I was set to head back to my hotel. They invited me to stay and have lunch with them. Before I knew it, I was in their kitchen and they were cooking. And next thing I knew, it was dinner. We ended up spending the entire day together. I was heading to Argentina at some point after Peru. I shared my mission of modeling in photoshoots and Juana mentioned that her sister is a photographer in Buenos Aires. It was all divine synchronicity. I later connected with her sister when I went to Buenos Aires and had an awesome photoshoot with her. At the end of the evening together, Juana and her boyfriend were planning to walk back to town to wait at the bus station for an early morning bus departure. I stayed with them all evening and the three of us walked 2 hours under the dark starlit sky back to town. It was such a memorable experience that all started with an invitation for a meal and ended with a memory imprinted on my heart—not to mention connection for a photographer in Argentina!
Stop for one second. Think about a second that changed your life forever.
This past May, my Dad became extremely ill. Earlier in the year he was having abdominal complications, and was set to have a colonoscopy and then COVID hit. All minor procedures came to a halt. In May his pain became worse and worse. We were concerned and thought that he needed to go to the hospital. My Mom stayed up with him all night as he was bent over the toilet in pain. Early on the morning of Mother’s Day, my Mom finally decided she needed to call an ambulance and get him to the hospital. He was becoming lethargic and was not present to where he was. Two paramedics showed up at the house with a stretcher. The stretcher couldn’t get in the house because there were too many obstacles in the way. They walked in and picked my dad up and carried him out of the house. He was lethargic for nearly 3 days. It was determined that he had Severe Sepsis. If he had shown up any later, he likely would have died. Thanks be to God, my Dad survived. He stayed in the hospital for a week and spent the following 6 to 8 weeks recovering. When he was feeling well enough, he paid a visit to the hospital to find the two paramedics who helped him. To them, they were just doing their job. To my dad, they saved his life. My dad will never forget those men, nor will my family. If they had come any later, this may have been a different story.
And then, there’s my friend Madeline. 9 years ago, her second child, Elliott was born. There was no cause for concern prior to his birth. However, when he came out of the womb, Elliott was found slumped over and blue. He couldn’t breathe. He had to be incubated. There was a doctor there who came in a flash, incubated Elliott and literally saved his life. On Elliott’s 8th birthday, Madeline was reflecting and thought about that doctor. There hasn’t been a week pass by that she hasn’t thought of that day and wondered where the doctor was. She never had the chance to meet him and thank him for saving her baby’s life. He wasn’t from Australia. The only thing she had was a name (Dr. Meswani) and an email address. Madeline emailed Dr. Meswani and shared her gratitude with him for saving her son’s life. He replied back and said that he wished Elliott a good life, and that he was grateful to Madeline for contacting him. It made such a difference to know that what he does makes a difference in this world, and that he’ll continue to do great work. For Madeline and her family, everything was complete. The hospital later put together a video to document Elliott’s story and the connection to the doctor who saved his life.
Watch a video here of Elliott’s story of finding the doctor who saved his life.
Your presence can lead to a beautiful connection when you least expect it.
Last week I received a submission on my website for an inquiry about hosting a Girl’s Night Inward session. A women who lives in Switzerland reached out to me and mentioned that she’s been following my journey and reading my blog for a couple of years. We were in a When to Jump Facebook group together and she remembered hearing about my journey. She saw that I was offering Oracle parties as a way to bring people together in a fun, unique, and meaningful way. Her birthday was coming up and for the first time in years, she would be separated from her friends due to COVID. She wanted to find a way to bring everyone together for a deeper connection. Today, we celebrated Michele’s birthday along with her tribe who were in different parts of the world. It was such a special day and way to bring everyone together virtually. And it all happened because I made an impression on Michele. It came full circle today. I was so humbled and honored to be a part of her special day and be the connector for bringing her tribe together. After the session was over, I stood in gratitude for the beautiful synchronicity of life and for creating a beautiful way to bring people together that deepens their spiritual bond and friendship.
If someone has made an impact on you, tell them. If you can’t tell them, share their story.
We may never know what our words or actions will mean to another person. We never know how what seems like a small gesture to us, could be a life-changing moment to another person. These stories and all of the stories I hold in my heart are reminders to be kind and hospitable to others. To live life every day with the intent to make a difference. Whether that’s smiling or saying hello to someone in the store, thanking the essential workers and mail carriers for their service, helping a stranger with directions, or offering a cold bottle of water to someone in need…there’s never a shortage of where we can lead life with our hearts. Simply by BEING you—your beautiful, authentic self.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind.