Life’s Journey: Learning Life Lessons from the People We Meet

Why this Blog?

Have you ever stopped to think about all the people you have met in your life. Whether it was for one conversation or a hundred conversations.  If you start listing the names of everyone you’ve ever met, it might feel overwhelming. Whether you met them briefly or got to know them well, the sheer number can be daunting.

I got to 1500 names and stopped writing. That did not cover the 150 people in my immediate family. That 150 included sisters, brothers, sister in-laws, brother in-laws, nieces and nephews. It also includes nieces and nephews by marriage and great nieces and nephews. I now have over 30 nieces and nephews and over 70 great nieces and nephews.  My Dad had six sisters. My mom had 11 brothers and sisters. When adding all the cousins and their spouses, I have probably at least 200 more people in my extended family.  

Add in grade school, junior high (what kids call middle school these days), high school, college and university.  All the little jobs you had throughout school and college where you had several co-workers. That will add at least another couple hundred.

Then the people you meet through careers, neighborhood businesses, and community spaces. Realtors, doctors, lawyers, accountants and dentists. As well as hair stylists, veterinarians, optometrists and personal trainers. You also interact with gym peers and neighbors. Servers at your favorite restaurants and grocery store cashiers are part of your everyday experience. Florists, Bakers, Plumbers and more. Then your children’s friends and their parents, the fellow PTA or PTO, Booster and Scout members.  If you are a church goer, then you have another family. This may include priests or pastors, catechism teachers, and youth group leaders.  If you engage in recreational sports, then teammates and coaches become a part of your life.

It can be overwhelming to think that all of the people you have ever known, would fill a stadium.

Please join me through my life’s journey to meet all kinds of people in my blog. You will encounter the good, the bad, the bold, the brave, the weak, and the strong. You will also meet the mean, the nasty, the ugly, and the disturbing. There are the truth-tellers, the liars, the comedians, the clumsy, and the goofs. You’ll come across the greedy, the graceful, the dignified, the scared, the lonely, the depressed. Finally, you meet the downright crazy or challenged.  I can honestly say, I have met them all. Some maybe once or twice, some maybe a hundred times or even thousands.  After all, there are 365 days in a year. If you are lucky to live past half a century, you will have lived over 18,262 days. How many people do you meet in a day? You may not remember people from your first five years of life. You might not appreciate the life lessons learned then. Yet, you still lived 16,438 days that you may or may not remember.  Depending on your upbringing, you may have met only 1 person a day. Even then, you still had the opportunity to interact with over 16,000 different people. These people had different backgrounds and different messages for you. From how many did you learn? 

I did the math. I have met many people. If I told just one story a day about each of them, I would need 273 more years. Who has the time? I do feel that some people have taught me lessons that helped me become who I am. Most people who really know me would say I am a truly good and compassionate person. Those lessons came from many more people than one would think. It is important though to talk not only about the good that people have instilled in the world. It is especially crucial to learn from all the ill-mannered or truly awful people as well. They often are the reason we turn out as well as we do or as challenged. No one wants to be remembered for all the wrong that they have done, or at least they shouldn’t. You have probably heard the line “Don’t burn your bridges.” You never know when you may need to cross back over. I admired a man who once said this: “Burn every bridge. That way you are forced to build new ones to move forward and meet new people”

I probably have lived my life more in the second bridge scenario instead of the first. I think each person and each scenario call for different choices. One must decide to burn or not to burn.

I believe it is important for people to find value in everyday individuals. Everyday conversations can be enlightening. See what you learn from those you meet along life’s journey.  Share the good and inspiring and bury the rest as quickly as you can. I would love to her your stories. Feel free to comment if a story touches you or reminds you of someone you have met. By sharing our stories with future generations maybe, just maybe, we can bring more compassion to everyday life.