Stars on the Ceiling

Recently my oldest son and my youngest daughter switched rooms. This of course, entailed redesigning, painting, and reorganizing both rooms.  Once my daughter was happily settled into her hot pink with zebra accented space. I went to work on making her former, purple room acceptable for an eighteen year old boy. His main request…please take down the dozens of glow in the dark stars.  These stars had been securely fastened for NINE LONG YEARS.

Somewhere between carefully pulling down each star and scraping off the sticky putty that came with the stars, I had a thought. In many ways, people are just like these stars. Let me explain.  

Each person that comes into our lives whether for just a few minutes or for years stays with us.  Some of them are like the small stars, not offering much light, but cumulatively valuable. Then there are those like the largest stars in the pack. They fill our life with wonder. These might be our best friends or family.  They offer light when things seem dark and guide us along our way.  These are the ones we can't live without.

All these people, both of great and small influence will someday be taken from our lives. Some we purposely leave behind. Others are taken by moving or changes in our lives or theirs. Worst of all, some disappear when they die leaving our life dark and cold in spots.

The influence people have in our lives is not just the glow of the star but also the like putty that in my daughter's room held the stars securely to the ceiling.  I only had my mother for three short years and although she died from cancer, I see her influence “sticking” in my life all the time. I believe it is the same with other people.

It's one of the gifts of the universe. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant each person teaches us something.
Imagine if we chose each interaction carefully, thinking of what we were sticking to people and what would stay with them when we were gone. What if we literally carried a star that had the words we wanted to say on it and handed it to each person we spoke to. I know for me, it might change the way I treat people. I might take more time, offer more kind words. What do you think? Do you believe people "stick with us." Take a second to leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.