Maturity

I ran into an old friend of mine today. I had not seen her for over13 years. I watched her face and listened to her as she looked at me with a smile a repeated to me how she thought I had matured. She held her smile with a wink of surprise. She could tell all the years of growth just by looking at my face. She caught herself and made sure to say that I wasn’t looking old, it’s just that she could tell that I was no longer a young kid, inexperienced and wide eyed to what the world had to offer me.

She made me think about Maturity and what her definition really was. Does it mean that the world no longer holds surprises for you? I don’t think so. There are endless things in this world to occupy my mind. Does it mean that the world had become tainted for me from all the years of being a social worker and working with all of the people who lead hard and misunderstood lives? No, what she was saying was that for the first time she saw me as a grown adult woman that had found her place in this world and had years of experience behind her.

The last time we had saw each other I was in my early twenties as a single mom still trying to find out where I fit into this world. She was at one point one of my mentors that taught me about some of the hardships of life. I didn’t realize it at the time, but she was paying me a compliment. I can look back on today and still hear her words and see her smile and know that she knew she had played a part in making me who I had become. My thoughts of others that I have mentored enter my head. I wonder, if they view me in a positive light? Did I teach them what they needed to learn? Do I show them the human factor first? Teach them to always respect the person next to them. Will they remember me as I remember her, a wonderful caring friend who put others in distress first before herself. Treat each other with respect and remember that the person in trouble could always be one of us next time or someone we love. Remember the human factor of every situation because for you and me, it could mean the difference between life and death of someone that holds another someone’s heart and soul in their hands. Everyone has a purpose and reason for being! What’s your purpose and reason?