Today, while looking out the window
of my office, I was hit with an intense realization. You see, my office is on
the 39th floor of an iconic building in the heart of downtown Detroit,
and when I look out any window on my floor I can see for miles.
I’ve worked in my office for a
month, but today was the first time I really looked at my view, and saw the
enormity of it. My window doesn’t just look out at buildings, parking lots, and
a river. It looks out onto the lives of thousands of people. My window looks
out on employees driving their companies forward, houses and apartments that
people call home, and people hustling and bustling to and from moments, small
and large, in their lives.
I’m guilty of something I think
every single one of us is guilty of. I’m guilty of not appreciating the
enormity of this incredible world we live in. I am one, simple human, surrounded
by a million other simple humans, who are actually anything but simple.
How many people do you pass on the
street everyday while you’re driving? How many strangers do you walk past each
morning on your way into work? How many anonymous faces do you pass each day
without a second thought?
If you pass me in the hall what do
you see? You see a young woman, maybe just a girl, with curly hair, buying a
coffee, or waiting for the elevator. When I look in the mirror I see a hard
worker, a singer, a cook, an aspiring author. I see a green eyed dreamer who
wants to change the world. When you look at yourself in the mirror do you see
the same thing? Do you see someone with hopes, fears, and dreams of changing
the world?
Now imagine that every single person
in this world, every anonymous face you pass each day, every car that speeds
past you on the freeway, every single life that lies outside your window, is a
soul with a dream and a passion, a desire to change the world and leave their
mark. Every day we are surrounded by thousands, millions, even billions of magnificent
creatures called people.
So today, or tomorrow, take a second
to allow the enormity of that fact wash over you. Revel in the notion that each
day you are surrounded by hearts, whether in the next cubicle, the building
across the street, or island in the river, that are full of passion and the
desire to change this great big, terrifying world we live in.
And that, folks, is utter magic.
