We Were Here

In my recent travels I have had a lot of time to think about the impact that we may or may not have in this world.

Upon leaving Atlanta, it became clear to me that I had indeed made some good life long friends there. Even more however was revealed to me. I realized that I may have actually altered some of those peoples lives and that many of them had altered mine. So this caused me to contemplate the impact that one individual can actually have on the world.

During the three day train ride, I crossed paths with many people. The people I sat next to, the people working for Amtrak, the various people I ran into walking around the cities I had lay overs in. All these people I had the opportunity to influence and had the opportunity to influence me. It made me begin to think of all the people we have the opportunity to influence on a daily basis even if we aren't a photo-monk riding the rails.

It all goes back to what I always say "It doesn't matter what you do, it matters how you do it". I see this as being a perfect example of that. How many times had the one rude person set your day in a tailspin of anger? How many times did getting cut off in traffic ruin an otherwise perfect trip? You could be the one person that makes or breaks someone's day. No pressure or anything, but its true.

I remember really feeling this as I was walking in Virginia, it was a rainy day, kinda chilly. Yet if someone looked at me I smiled a big smile, like I had been waiting my whole life to greet them. The result was always the same, they returned my big smile and normally took the next step and said "good morning". This was my little experiment as I passed the time in the little mountain town of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a pretty cool little experiment actually. I would highly recommend trying it. People will respond with a smile or just think your crazy. Either reaction is entertaining.

This is my point. We influence millions of people in our life. We can choose how.

The Photo-Monk