Why You Showing Up Matters (Even When You’re Not Sure It Does)
Years ago when I was just getting my sea legs as a yoga teacher, a very fit-looking young guy walked into the studio and quietly rolled out his mat.
All I knew about him was that he was building an impressively committed yoga practice, and that, although he was new, he had the focus of a lifelong yogi.
He quickly became a staple at the studio, but aside from a friendly "Hi" on the way in and "Thank you" on the way out, he rarely spoke a word.
Fast forward five years.
I get a Facebook note one day out of the blue thanking me for being one of the first teachers to introduce him to the practice that saved his life.
He shared what he hadn't at the time:
That just before starting his yoga practice, he was so entangled with drugs and alcohol that he was one step away from living on the streets.
He'd bought a one-way-ticket to San Diego and decided to try yoga because he realized if he didn't make a serious change, he was going to die.
I had no idea at the time. I was wrestling my own fears to keep putting myself out there in this wildly vulnerable way as a new teacher, and was scared to death I might not "do it right".
But I kept showing up and connecting the best I could with the tools I had at the time.
And somehow we — he and his other teachers and I — were able to connect in this really real way.
In such a real way that this profoundly lost soul was able to step onto a path that's been full of joy and love ever since. He's happy and healthy these days, and has started teaching yoga himself.
I teared up hearing his story (and again writing this), because it reminded me of some things we can forget all too easily.
That what you do makes a difference.
That you don't have to be perfect to do good.
That when you relax about the outcome and focus on bringing love - messy, imperfect, scary, but earnest love - to what's in front of you right now, you can't go wrong.
That whether you ever get a pat on the back for the impact you're having makes no difference.
You never know whose life you might be changing for the better right this second, by just showing up.
There's no different way, no "more," you need to be to positively impact someone's life right now.
Don't keep your realest Self to yourself. Let your goodness — which is your realness — out. Give it a chance to inspire others.
All you have to do is keep showing up and returning to the intention to open. To let yourself be a channel for life and love to flow through.
The positive impact — whether you ever hear about it or not — will ripple out from there. Trust that.
Lots of Love,