Rosy Glow - Impacting Lives

N.B.  I had been saving this Rosy Glow for another time, but with the passing of Nelson Mandela, I feel that now is a good time to discuss impacting lives. So as you read this please add Nelson Mandela to the grand scale list

While watching the ceremonies on Mariano Rivera Day, The Yankees in addition to retiring Mariano’s number 42, which is retired throughout baseball, rededicated Jackie Robinson’s “42”.  It was a simple plaque with his number but the quotation spoke volumes.  “A life is not important except for the impact is has on other lives.”

This is so true on many levels. Some people impact lives on a grand scale while others do it a bit at a time. People like Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, were real game changers in the way they impacted lives. A more recent game changer is Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who stood up to the Taliban by attending school and was shot for her defiance. She has become a hero for girls around the world and should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  Their actions and bravery changed the way a nation and a world think and affected thousands of lives and still do to this day.  These people impacted lives not only with their bravery in having to endure all that was thrown at them but also through their sheer determination to be that game changer the ones who would truly make a difference.

Still there are others who impact lives in a negative way, the 9/11 hijackers and the Newtown, CT Sandy Hook School shooter Adam Lanza come to mind. They by their cowardice impacted many lives in a negative way and do not deserve any attention.

Not all of us can impact lives in the way that Robinson, King, Parks and Malala have, so how do we make that difference?  This all came to me while attending a family gathering celebrating Cousin Richard’s PhD.  I learned that he had dedicated his dissertation to his cousin Mary Rose who had passed away a few years earlier. It seems that Mary Rose was a huge supporter of Rich’s efforts and was a great inspiration for him. I also thought of Rich’s daughter Meredith and Cousin Krissy who work for non-profit organizations and how their work impacts others on a daily basis.

Still another example is my sister who has been teaching for almost 35 years, and in those 35 years just think of the number of students that have passed through her classrooms and the number of lives she has impacted. I am sure that the majority of her students would say she influenced them in a positive way and I have seen this when we run into some of her former students. My late Aunt Anna, a former school teacher, who taught for many years, impacted all those who passed her way and in some way might have influenced the life of a U.S. Supreme Court Justice who she taught early on.

We can begin impacting lives at any age, and my Cousin Marian’s grandson Luke is a perfect example. Luke at very young age has some major health issues and yet he is impacting many of us. It is amazing to see how Little Luke has brought a family, friends and a community together. We all have seen and heard stories on how whole communities pull together to help a child in need like Luke, and this is proof that it doesn’t matter how old you are to impact the lives of others.

So how do people like me who do not teach or work for non-profit organizations come close to impacting lives on a large or grand scale? Well it is simple and it came to me while attending my friends Dean and Olympia’s daughter’s wedding, “Friendship”. While at the reception I realized that this was our third trip down the aisle with this family so to speak and looking around the room I realized how our friendships impacted our lives. I felt that I must have impacted their kids’ lives and I know this because I was honored by being at their weddings. Their families were like my family, the bride Kristen even called my mother Grandma Angie and I realized that other friends in that room were also important to my wife and I. So I realized that I would continue to impact lives, by just being who I am and I hope you can learn something from me and who will support you when needed. Though not on the scale of others, by continuing to nurture my present and future friendships is the easiest way for me to impact lives.

So go out and make friends, mend fences with those that you may have had a falling out with and impact some lives. One thing is for certain, it is easy to make friends, and if in some way you make a difference in their lives in a positive way you have succeeded in impacting lives in a way Jackie Robinson and the others would have approved of. If we all can make an impact by just making friends we as a group can achieve that larger and grand scale and that feeling of accomplishment and friendship will fill you with that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that ….. Rosy Glow.