Celebrating with people you hardly know is weird. Nonetheless I went to the wedding my parents’ godson, because his family are friends of ours since I can remember and you still kind of know each other, even if you haven’t seen each other in a long time. So there I was on a wedding where I met the bride-to-be a week before and hardly know anything about the groom either. Of course I was still happy for the couple, celebrated with them and enjoyed the food!
As is custom at a wedding, the couple cuts the cake before opening the buffet. They did, but to my surprise the groom did not return with a piece of his wedding cake but with a piece of my mom’s Raffaello cake! (Raffaello is a confection made by Ferrero, with coconut and almonds and tastes delicious
The groom wished for this cake and my mom had to test it out before because she hadn’t baked it in years. We didn’t even know that he still remembered the cake. But then I started thinking…
When I was a child, I loved Rafaellos, but since they are somewhat expensive, you don’t have them at home every day. When my mom found a recipe for a cake made out of them, I was addicted. So my mom had to bake that cake for each one of my birthdays (and probably other celebrations, but not often enough of course). And on one of these celebrations, the godson of my parents tasted and loved it enough to remember that cake years later before his wedding. He told us that he wanted to eat a piece so badly before his guests had a chance to eat it up, so his wedding cake had to wait. His childhood memories of the tasty cake his godmother made had priority.
We never know what impact our actions or words can have, even years or decades later. In this case, all I did was selfishly wish for a cake, I didn’t even try to get others to like it. Nevertheless this had an effect on another person, even if I didn’t notice.
Of course this is a small example and this won’t change the world. But it shows how we can have an impact on others, intentional or unintentional, positive or negative. Maybe someone inspired in you the love for something – a job field you are working in now, a hobby you love, an area where you grew. Or maybe you have helped other people to find their purpose, to try something new or take a next step.
Sometimes there are people we hardly know who do something good for us. When a stranger helped you and you saw not everyone is egotistical and self-centred but that there are helpful and selfless people out there.
Maybe today you will do something that impacts the life of another in a big or small way. You don’t even have to search for opportunities, sometimes they just happen – or you just need to be yourself. I wish for you to be a positive impact on the people around you and that you can meet them with love, respect and kindness. Many things you will never know, but who knows how much a smile or a “thank you” can change a life!