If you haven't been reading up on things in Boston, you really need to go to www.brian-holt.com and click on Holt's Blog. See some pix, too. :-)
As I have sat here the last few nights with my laptop on the desk in this hotel room, I noticed a few dings, scratches, and stray marks here and there on the desktop. Depending on where the lamp light hits it, you can see several dings--some large, some small--and the occasional scratch. You can even make out a few numbers and letters that were etched into the desk when the pen or pencil was really pressed again the paper.
It struck me that there have been many folks before me who sat in this same spot working on all manners of things and each somehow left their mark. Some marks were fairly noticeable; others, not so much. Regardless, the desktop is marked from wear and tear and basic use over the years.
We're a lot like this desk...many people have come through our lives and impacted us in some way...some in a big way, others in much smaller ways. The point is people leave marks on our lives. While some of the things said or done to us over the years could be positive or negative, those people still leave a mark on us.
The 3,000 students that are in attendance this weekend for Harvard's Model United Nations conference are impressionable, hard-working young people. They are watching all of us adults on proper procedures and proper ways of handling people. It's our duty to lead by example and make sure students act in a way that is honorable and respectful to our different schools.
At the same time, I (and all the other adults) have to step back and think: how has the impression we've made on other people really impacted them? Is it something barely noticed or something that has left a mark and truly helped that person change/go in a new direction?
Impressions are powerful things. They tell a story in our lives and help us see where we've been and what we've been through.
It's a good, quick reminder that life's too short to be negative and whiny; focus on what's important and build people up every chance you get. You may not have tomorrow to do it--esp since God never promised tomorrow to us.
