You never know who you may impact
You never know who you may impact. 🖤
I was swimming yesterday having to drag myself out of the house to do so. It’s hot, I wanted to stay inside, but I knew the cold water would feel so good. And, I was right.
In the water, it’s quiet. There’s no podcasts, no music, no talking to a friend. You just count laps, focus on sharp, quick inhales and slow, long exhales; and think to yourself. My “I’ll just do 10 laps” turned into 20, I got to thinking:
What will I do when I’m not teaching yoga? Will this new job work out? Why do I feel so tired? I’m need rest. Maybe I should stop the newsletter, too. I don’t know who even reads it anymore. Oh, don’t forget to call that person, post that thing, and text those people. Man, I’m tired.
I popped my head up out of the water and took a few long exhales that were made even longer since my very extended break from swimming. I pulled my cap off and showed my goggle eyes to the world. Unsurprisingly, I actually felt much more energized after moving my body and being in the cold (movement is cool like that). Someone next to me made a joke about wishing they could be that fast in the water (really, I’m not that fast at all), and I always think, “oh if only you knew the story about why I began swimming and how slow I was when I started”. 🚗
Then I had a man next to me say, “hey, my favorite writer/blogger hasn’t written anything in a while! Your words have impacted me. Thank you”. I told him, wow, this is exactly what I needed to hear. You know what else he said? “I read your things, and they make my day. And I also feel compelled to tell you… slow down. You have so much time and life ahead of you.”
Wow.
In this season where I feel like i”m letting go of titles and roles I once held, transitioning into higher paying jobs, saying no to familiar ones, and taking more time in the evenings to be with friends and family instead of work, that really was what I needed to hear. I told him thank you, but it felt really cool to know I’ve impacted someone I’ve never met.
It feels fitting to write this as I teach my last in-person yoga class after 7 years of doing so for so so long. When I started teaching yoga, I had no idea I’d be doing it so long. My first class had 3 people in it, which led to 5, 10, 20, 30 and more. Connecting with people, smiling, talking, sharing, and learning through others feels the absolute best. Sometimes I forget how many people I’ve taught over the years.
This mans’ words reminded me of how I, personally, admire people from afar. I think (actually, I now know) that when you are doing what you love, being kind, and creating from a place of authenticity, you are effecting and impacting so many people because you’re in your true essence. Your flow. Whether your art be teaching, creating recipes, writing music, writing a blog, putting a smile on people’s face at the grocery store, selling leases, picking up trash outside, or simply just existing. If you’re doing what you love, you’re effecting people. Your art might change over time, but you always have a passion, and it’s good to keep following it.
I’m a big words of affirmation person, and when someone tells me that I’ve changed their life or they read my things, it feels good. And even though I email a few hundred of you and have 1,000+ people watch my stories and I share parts of my life socially, I sometimes feel like I don’t make an impact. But, I just keep doing what I love. It’s when you keep doing what you love, you don’t need the validation from others as much. But always remember that you impact people that will never say anything to you at all. That’s actually when that someone out of the blue will remind you that you do.
Just be, create, and do what you love. You are impacting more people than you know.
Xo,
