I was at church today, and after Communion I happened to notice the prior secretary from Goo’s school walk by. Honestly, I don’t think she probably has any idea who I am. Perhaps she would recognize me, but if so, she surely wouldn’t know my name.
But I remember after Mae was born, I had to go into the school office to submit the enrollment forms for Goo to start kindergarten. I ran in alone because TJ had off for two weeks after Mae’s birth, so he stayed in the car with the there girls. I thought I would just run in, drop it off, and leave.
But when I walked in, there were a few people in the office. One of our priests was in there, and I told him about Mae’s birth, and there was a bit of “praising God” and whatnot. Then the secretary walked out, and I shared the news with her. She talked to me a bit about children and about the transition from two to three. She was so kind, and she was so gracious, and she was so gentle.
Those first couple of weeks after a baby are born can be tough even with very easy babies, and the transition from two to three was a lot tougher than I was expecting. So her words of wisdom and encouragement were a welcome reprieve from the chaos that I was experiencing at home.
I don’t have any grand stories about her. I can’t really say she changed my life or anything. It’s just that she always struck me as a Special Person.
Now I know we are all special. We are all unique and talented. We all are important to some people. I think most of us could find someone who would say that we are pretty special.
But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Special People. People who touch others’ lives just by being who they are. People who are special to many, not just a few.
I’ve been blessed to know a few such people like that in my life. Some of them have had a tremendous impact on my life and some, like the one described above, just made my world a bit brighter by being in it. But what I think all of these people have in common is a sense of peace. Special people know they are special. They know we are all special. And because of that, they feel free to take their gifts, whatever they may be, and spread them. They don’t feel the need to be someone else. They don’t feel a need to fill roles or live up to expectations. They know who they want to be, and they live it out.
And it makes me think about myself and what I could have to offer the world. It makes me wonder who I could be if I stopped constantly trying to live up to whatever it is that I’m trying to live up to at the moment. It makes me wonder where life would take me and where I would take me if I just fully embraced who I am in all my crazy, neurotic glory.
And it makes me wonder what our world would like if we all followed along. If we all stopped trying to live up to another person’s idea of A+ and started embracing our own. If we had an entire world full of people who were so full of peace that they couldn’t help but let it spill up and out and let it engulf the world.
We could heal the world.
Unfortunately, after having lived in this world for 36 years, I understand that it is broken and we are broken, and I understand that even my Special People are broken and imperfect and messy. Nothing will change that. But what we can change is ourselves, and what we can accomplish are small steps. Small steps in the direction of self acceptance and peace.
We take those small steps when we make mistakes and we forgive ourselves. When others harm us and we forgive. When we respect ourselves, respect others, and insist on respect in return. When we pack away all we weren’t meant for in order to embrace all we were created for. When we focus on now. And what we can accomplish. And who we can love in this moment — the only moment we are ever guaranteed.
When we focus on such acts, I do believe we can start spreading little seeds of peace. Little seeds of hope. And they may not transform the face of the Earth, but they can grow in little patches here and there. And soon enough, where once barren land lay, instead lay our little glimmers of peace there for all to see.
Changing the world doesn’t mean healing all ills. Healing the world doesn’t mean none are left ill and broken. It just means making things a little better. One day at a time. One step at a time. And embracing the parts of us that make us Special People. Because we all have it in us.