As I got off the train in Caerphilly this morning, I noticed someone had scrawled: “kill yourself” on the floor by the tracks. I’m sure everyone reading this would agree, that’s pretty disgusting. It appalled me, and it upset me, if we’re being honest. I wanted to write over it. At first with an angry message to whoever wrote it, informing them in no uncertain terms how irresponsible, insensitive and downright stupid it was for them to write such garbage, and the effect it could have on whoever reads it.

But that’s when I realised: whoever reads it. You have no idea who’s gonna read it. The same as I had no idea who’d actually read my tirade of a reply.

This got me onto thinking about how all of our actions have consequences (if you’re into science & physics, you’ll know that every action has a reaction – see, I remembered something from my A-Levels). You never fully know quite what impact you have on someone else’s life. So it led me to this statement:

You’re worth more than you know.

That old movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” looked at this idea (and countless tv shows have done spin-offs) of what the world would be like without you. Where the guardian angel shows the protagonist how terrible life would be for everyone else if they weren’t around anymore. We don’t all have guardian angels to show us a fly-on-the-wall style snapshot at life without us, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Think about it. Very few people like spiders. Most of us kill the poor lil suckers on sight. But actually, spiders are so important to our eco system: they help control the population of insects for one, and that means we humans don’t get overrun by bugs. Spiders don’t know they’re doing us a favour, they’re just doing their thing. But without them, we’d be in a huge heap of insect mess. I guess what I’m trying to say here, is that even if you feel like people don’t like you, by being yourself, and by just BEING here, you could have a hugely important impact on something or someone else that you’re not even aware of.

The truth is: you matter very much. All your flaws, and imperfections. All your talents, and quirks. Everything about you has an impact on the people, and the general world around you. You fill a space that no-one else, out of the 6 billion odd other people out there, can like you do.

I find that hugely encouraging. Whether it’s knowing that I’m making an impact on someone’s life by sharing a positive message, helping a stranger out by something as simple as holding a door open for them, calling my friends to let them know I’m thinking of them, the world and the lives of the people around me wouldn’t be the same without me here. I’m gonna remind myself of that whenever I’m feeling unwanted or insignificant (because let’s face it, we all do from time to time).

Even if you can’t see the bigger picture just yet, you’ve been cast to play a hugely important role in this crazy production titled “life”. And no-one else can do it quite the way you do. At some point it might start making sense, and you might see the direct result of something you’re doing. But even when it doesn’t seem clear, you’re still making a difference, just by being you.

You go, Glen Coco.

– Si