DailyBlog: How Will Today Matter in Five Years

** The first three books in my six-part dystopian series have officially made their way out into the world! Check them out!
For the sake of blogging, self-exploration, and contemplation, I’ve been slowly making my way through answering questions from this list

Today’s Question: How will today matter in five years from now?

I don’t know that today, specifically, will matter in five years at all, but it’s the small things that make memories, good and bad, and that, when all put together, shape who we are, and who we will be. It’s the butterfly effect.

My eleven-year-old neices came into town this weekend for Thanksgiving (they live halfway across the country), I only get to see them a few times a year. Four years ago, I took their dad (my sister is three years older than me, her husband is twelve years older than her) horseback riding for the first time in his life. He had a great time and really enjoyed it, so he got my neices into horseback riding lessons. Today they have a horse and they’re really into the sport which makes me so happy because horses have always been a huge passion of mine and it gives me an easy gateway to have some type of relationship with them. I don’t know that they would have gotten into horses if I hadn’t taken their dad riding that day, as it was him who really encouraged them to ride, and it was him who convinced my sister that the girls should have a horse. I didn’t know when I took him riding how much he would love it, or that it would lead to him encouraging and supporting my neices to become horsegirls. I took them to meet my horse today, and I let them lunge him and even ride him a little bit, and it was so fun to have a hobby in common with them, and to remember the horse shows I used to compete in when I was their age.

But back to the point : Be mindful of the choices you make with others, and the way you speak to and treat others. What may seem like a small passing thing can be the planted seed that can lead to a much bigger thing down the road. It can be an awesome, positive thing, but on the flip side, you can also plant aseed with someone that leads them down a dark and painful path. (For example, the first time you tell a kid they’re too fat, and five years down the road they’re battling anorexia.)

We have a lot of power with the impression we leave on the lives of those we cross paths with, more than we usually realize. Be compassionate and careful with others.