I've been thinking about just how we influence others. We usually consider those in political positions as the influential people of the world. However, if you think of the person who has influenced you most, it's usually someone in your everyday life - perhaps a teacher, a parent, or just a friend or neighbor. I recall a particular teacher I had in college. I don't even recall her name, but she helped me to see things through other people's eyes. I took two classes from her, one about how our mixture of people came about (going back to early civilizations) and the other about various cultures in our world.

Consequently, I always try to realize that my life and another person's life are completely different. I've had certain experiences that the other person hasn't. I may have grown up in a different country or social status than the other person (definitely not by my own choice, but by the occasion of my birth). I've been taught to approach life and circumstances in a different way. And I've even had different people who have influenced me - some I've not even been aware of.

I volunteer at a non-profit agency near me that services primarily people in need. However, I've learned that just coming to our building may not mean that the person is homeless or living in a poor situation. The person may have a nice car, but he or she may have lost a job and sincerely needs our help. Or the person may be sitting in our lobby because he or she is lonely and finds someone to visit with among our clients. We have one man who comes in several times a week and always stops at our clothes closet just to say hello and be affirmed by a volunteer, not needing anything more than that.

We can never step completely into another person's shoes, but we can realize that each of us is different, and we each need to recognize that difference in a loving way.

I'm finally back!

I've been away for awhile because of medical and other reasons, but now I'm back. I've been writing a novel as well as my memoirs, and so I have kept busy. The novel is finished, and I'm now searching for a publisher. It's about a school teacher who moves from a large city to a small town of 92 people, and some of the characters and experiences she encounters. She harbors a secret of why she left the big city, and she meets a man who also has a secret that those in the small town don't know. Will they learn each other's secrets, and will their relationship grow?

I plan to post regularly with thoughts about life and our commitments to each other.

Have you ever thought of the intricate parts of our world? My niece reminded me of the time we were in the woods and saw a patch of green moss. We got on our hands and knees and looked through the moss as if it was a forest of trees. Our world is so interwoven I hate to see us pulling apart into our own individual corners. How can we be one world if we do that? We need to support each other, not only in our families and neighborhoods, but also in our world. Things that happen to one country certainly makes a difference in another, whether we realize it or now. We are all in this world together.