“Everybody, my friend, everybody lives for something better to come.  That’s why we want to be considerate of every man.  Who knows what’s in him, why he was born and what he can do?”

– Maxim Gorky

Have you stopped lately to consider the path your life has taken?  Retrace your steps for a bit and think of where you’ve been.  Is the place where you stand today anywhere near what you had planned when you were a child?  What did you want to be when you grew up?  What dreams did you conjure for yourself as you walked barefoot across a stream or played dress-up and tried on adult roles?  Were you encouraged to follow your dreams, or did others try to dream for you?

Think now about your teenage years.  As your talents developed and you made your first attempts at cultivating your gifts, was it clear to you where you were going?  Did you find within yourself a speck of greatness that was waiting to be nurtured and brought to fruition?  Did others see your talents and try to make decisions for your future?   How did you decide which path your life would take?  How many u-turns did you make before you finally found the direction you really wanted to go?

Sometimes it takes a lifetime for our purpose to unfold.  Sometimes we need to grow through and past our obvious talents and discover how they all fit together in leading us to the path with a heart.  Can you think of the people who watched you as you found your way?  Can you picture the kind words and encouragement and love that helped you find the courage to continue to seek your true purpose in life?

If you find yourself smiling as you remember those who touched your heart and helped it to grow, hold onto that feeling.  Take it with you today — and every day — and be that person for the people you meet.  We must be considerate of one another and bring love to all we meet.  We never know where another person has been, and we never know what greatness might lie within them and wait for a kind word to call it into existence.  Be love to everyone you meet today, and trust that something beautiful will come of it.