I was talking with a friend yesterday about our favorite holiday movies. Without doubt, mine is It’s A Wonderful Life. I have watched that movie, easily, thirty or forty times, if not more. Black and white, nothing fancy or high tech and it is a classic, nonetheless, because of the message. What we do matters.

We live in a time of great self-doubt, questioning our intrinsic value, as we are bombarded by fabricated images and messages about what defines success and worth. Our point of reference gets skewed away from the gifts we already possess – kindness, love and the ability to connect, in some way, with others.  Most all of us struggle to connect, at one time or another, based on lived experiences. Very, very few people are clinically unable to connect though. What that means is that we are powerful beyond measure because, at any time, we can forge a bond with another person.

With that in mind, if you knew that you already had the capacity for greatness would that positively impact your self esteem? If you knew, for example, that your smile could be the only kind gesture that another person might receive in a day, would you see your ability to make a difference in the world? Would you be open to considering that, at any given moment, what you say and do, will have a ripple effect in the world? That you are great?

I remind myself regularly, especially if I am feeling cranky, that I have the ability to lift myself and others up or, conversely, bring us down, all in what I say and do. I don’t always get it right and I know it when I don’t. And when I don’t, I don’t feel good about myself…when I do, my heart feels light. 

We are all perched on the brink of greatness and that greatness lies in our ability to be kind with one another. A smile, an inspiring word, a helpful gesture, all cost nothing and are infinitely valuable. Maybe they’re not what sells but they are what moves us. So let’s get moving!