What's So Important About People?

One of my best friends became a father this past weekend. As a result, I got a special treat: I got to hold a little baby who was only a few hours old. I’ve had this privilege a few times in my life – including two of my own – and the experience always overwhelms me. The delicate beauty. The utter innocence. The sheer humanity.

There is so much to marvel at with a newborn in your arms. The biological masterpiece. The elegant design. The unparalleled engineering of the human body. I’m taken by their tiny features and strive to comprehend how this little creature will one day be a full-grown person. It’s hard to imagine holding in my hands the genesis of a human life. It’s like getting to peek at the first paragraph of some great literary work before the rest of it is even written.

What a story she will be.

For within that fragile body stirs a soul that will sprout thoughts and desires and ideas and fears and hopes and emotions and dreams. She will live a new, unique life, a life no one has ever lived. It will be hers, and her’s alone.  She will touch other people and be touched; she’ll succeed and fail; she’ll create and destroy. She’ll laugh. She’ll love. She’ll live.

And in doing so – in small ways and big – she will change the course of history.

So what do I take away from that experience? A simple reminder that every one of us was once that little baby. Every person you encounter today. Every colleague you work with. All the strangers, acquaintances, friends, and relatives you touch today – we were all that little baby.

When you see a person today, try to remember they’re someone’s child, someone’s brother or sister, a kid’s mom or dad, somebody’s best friend – they are someone to someone. They’re a walking bundle of dreams and hopes and fears and beliefs and passions – and, for better or worse, they are changing the world today.

And so are you.

Who will you marvel at today?