How wide did you live today?
No, I don't mean how many things you crossed off your to-do list.
I don't mean how much money you accrued in the last 24 hours.
How wide did you live today?
I'll try to phrase this better.
How many specific lives did you touch today? How many people did you connect with that will have a lasting impression on both of you?
Did you text any old friends? Call your grandparents? Thank your yoga teacher? Buy a random stranger coffee? Spend time with your children?
I ask this because this question has had a profound impact on my life. It is so stupidly easily to go about our daily lives doing the things we feel like we need to do, in order to sustain the lives we have or wish for. It's so easy to live within these bubbles, rarely truly reaching outside for anything more. But did you consciously go out of your way to connect with someone who may have needed a sign that someone cares?
Maybe they didn't need it.
But I guarantee that if an old friend texts you out of the blue, you'll be happy they thought of you.
If your son, father, aunt or nephew calls you just to see how you're doing, you'll be happy they thought of you.
If a coworker thanks you for a job well done, you'll be happy they thought of you.
Now imagine bringing that joy to someone else. And another person. Maybe even one more. How many lives could you touch with a text message, or a lunch together, or even just a smile?
The reality of having no control over the length of our lives can be scary to some. What we can control is the width of our lives. Whether your good will is reciprocated or not isn't important, but your action could spark others in ways you will probably never know.
Life is temporary. Life is short. But it doesn't have to be thin.
Image credit: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/954411