It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, when you see or hear a sweet soul you know it. I was saddened to hear of her passing, but I was even sadder to know she would no longer be here to give us inspiration. Her spirit was that of a beautiful graceful bird and I am blessed to say she was a legend in my lifetime.

It’s sad that we don’t really appreciate people or realize just how much they impacted us until they are gone. I never picked up her books, I never went to hear her speak, but I always knew she was there. Her words would come in and out of my life through people I have met along my journey, but I never realized how much she would impact me until I saw her picture and her name with two years underneath 1928-2014.

It made me wonder, what will I have accomplished in my “-“? You know that hyphen between the year you were born and the year you passed over. I know I could never be as incomparable as Ms. Maya Angelou, but will I have made an impact on someone? Will I have made a difference in someone’s life?

It boils down to what you want to be remembered for. What you want your legacy to be. This is all we will have. When we leave we leave others behind to remember us. It starts today with me. I will honor Ms. Angelou’s life and words, and start paying it forward.

 

Give a simple smile to someone as they walk by instead of looking down at the ground. Waiting and holding a door open for the elderly person instead of rushing in front of them. Buy the person’s meal behind me in the drive-thru. Take time out in the day and call loved ones that you haven’t spoken to in a while and tell them you love them. Hold your babies tight and make sure they know you mean it. Take time out and listen to people and actually care about what they are saying. Help the person out on the side of the road with a flat tire. It takes a second, but it can make a lasting impression on others. These actions will start to accumulate and create a life of their own.

I want my hyphen to mean something. What do you want your hyphen to mean? What will you do today to make it count?

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.                  – Maya Angelou

 

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