when you grow up

My dear friend Gary [G2] sent this post in......

There's an age old question that all of us have heard and have asked ourselves. "What do you want to be when you grow up"? When we were little kids our thoughts usually turned to what we were exposed to or what our interests were. Some of us may have wanted to be a doctor, an athlete, or to drive a train. Maybe it was to build houses to be a woodworker, or an astronaut. Or even a ballerina, or to paint pictures, write poems or make beautiful music. What did I want to be when I "grew up"? I wanted to be a heavy machine operator. Really! As a little kid I was fascinated by it. Not for sure why. It could have been the way the earthmovers, with all that power and those big motors, changed the world in which I lived in. One scoop at a time. To this day I still stop and watch as those trucks and machines go about their jobs.

Through the years that question is still being asked. In my late teens I wanted to work in restaurants. During my 20's and 30's I wanted to be a woodworker. As I got older I started working in the Natural Gas Industry. It became more about making money than "What I wanted to be". What has happened to the joy or fascinating that we had experienced early on in life? Have we grown weary and exhausted by the grind of our everyday life.

As I have reached the middle 50's my thoughts of what I want to be when I grow up (which I refuse to do) has shifted to what do I want to do. It is not so much about the job and the money anymore, although it is still a driving factor. It is about how do or how can I make a difference. How do I make an impact in the small sphere of influence that I have; to those I come in contact with on a daily basis. Do I smile at the clerk taking my money and ask them their name? Have I talked to my neighbor across the street lately? Do I hold doors for people all the while not expecting a thank you. Do I stop long enough to make a connection with the soul or the spirit in each person? I have learned through the years that it is the little things, when done every day, that make an impact on our world. One kind word or deed can change a person's day.

In this go - go - go world we are in, we have to ask ourselves this question. Am I in too much of a hurry to be kind, or to notice or help those around me. We all simply want to be noticed and acknowledged that we are more than just a passing shadow. Make someone's day by telling them that they are appreciated, they are special and loved. It goes a long way to making an impact: if not to just that one person but maybe to the those watching us and to world we live in.

What do I want to be when I grow up? Now days I would say " I want to be an acknowledger and an encourager!" I want to be the one that when our paths cross we leave each other a little better than we were before.

Grace and Peace,
g2