Showing Up

I was chatting with a friend earlier this week who is planning to go see his grandkids in their church Christmas musical soon.  I've certainly been to a lot of those over the years, and 'm sure I was even in them when I was a kid!  That got me thinking about the impact of showing up for the people in our lives.

You know the scene, a group of kids are performing, and they are desperately scanning the audience to see if they can find their people, and then the moment of recognition happens and their face breaks into a huge smile with an excited wave.  Or maybe you've seen some of those videos of people who have been gone for a while, and they show up at the door of the house on Thanksgiving or Christmas as a surprise for their family?  Gets me every time!

Showing up matters. 

But here's the thing, it doesn't just have to be something like a performance or a long, lost surprise visit. Showing up in the everyday also matters.

I have a coworker who recently lost his 94-year-old mother, and I witnessed several moments when other coworkers took a minute to ask him how he was doing. Small gestures of showing up that I could tell really made an impact on him. I also know of a person who moved into a new house and their dryer plug wasn't the right fitting for their new place, so their friend came over and took 15 minutes to help change it. It was astonishing to see how much that meant to them.  And as a final example of the small ways we can show up, I know of a very influential leader who is responsible for a massive organization, and they regularly walk around their building just to stop, chat and check in with people as they go about their day. Small gesture, huge impact!

Showing up matters. In the big moments and the small ones, and it doesn't matter if it's family, or friends, or coworkers or leaders.  Each of us can find a way to show up for others in ways that can bring a smile and a wave!

As you think about the routines of your life, where are the small places you may be able to show up with some purpose and intention in the next week?  Are there specific individuals who come to your mind and heart that you sense could use a simple check-in, and what impact do you think that might make if you were to show up in that way for them? Maybe you want to start thinking about a big moment of showing up that you could pull off in the coming weeks or months? I bet it would be powerful!

Here's to Showing Up this week, because it matters!

Be Well,

Stephen

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