The Gift

It's been a couple weeks since I went public with my health challenges in my last blog post and I've experienced the most amazing gift since that moment.  Imagine for a moment that everyone you have ever impacted or influenced in your life were to reach out at once and tell you the effect you have had on their lives.  People you haven't seen or spoken to in 35+ years sharing stories about you as a child. Friends from high school and college that haven't been a part of your life since you were students together.  Colleagues from companies past and present telling you how you have shaped their careers and sometimes their lives.  And every relative close and far sharing what you mean to them.  It's overwhelming.  It's humbling.  It's a gift.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in our day-to-day lives that you fail to recognize the impact that your life has had on those around you and thereby on your world.  It's a shame that most people will never get the gift that I have received.  Most of us will pass through life without realizing our own impact on the world.  I'm lucky.  It's a gift I will cherish for the rest of my days.