Little Ripples

I often wonder if what I do in this life is making any difference. Yes, I post things and yes, I try to stay positive but you really can’t always be positive. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives, we can’t or won’t see the difference we are making.

The other day I got a message from a childhood friend I haven’t even seen since childhood. She said thank you for being open. To be honest, I was taken a little aback and scrolled through my most recent Facebook posts. None of them seemed particularly open; just things I would say in real life. But it got me thinking- how often do we casually say words not realizing the impact they can make to someone else?

I’ve been asked why or how I can be so open. I know I’ve talked about miscarriage and body dysmorphia. Sometimes that makes people uncomfortable. To be honest, it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t like talking about it because to me, it’s a level of weakness I don’t want to share. But I do. I do for two main reasons. 1.) writing has always, and probably always be, therapeutic to me and 2.) I believe that someone, even if I don’t know who, needs ABSOLUTELY to know they are not alone in their experience.

Life is never a straight path. It bends and curves, with up and downs we can never predict. I feel like the best we can hope for is that we can pick ourselves up or have someone in our life who willingly loans a hand to help us brush ourselves off.

I cannot convey how much that simple message meant to me. To me, it meant I might be a little ray of light in someone else’s life, even if that wasn’t who I was directing it at. I’m a small stone in a big pond. My first ripple might be small but I know it’ll grow. When my ripples end, I hope people remember me for being kind. That is the mark I would love to leave on this earth.