“A friend is a gift you give yourself.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson

Every person you meet is like an unwrapped present, even if it’s a one-time meeting, even if you bristle, and even if you don’t see it at the time. Everyone with whom you interact will reveal something about yourself — if you pay attention. That gift of self-awareness allows you to be more fulfilled and ultimately live a happier life.

You might feel deeply moved by some people more than others. Something connects your soul and theirs in a way that is inexplicable. Familiar, certain, strong, frightening, wonderful, exciting; you don’t need words but there is no denying what has happened.

But whether it is perceived as a positive meeting or a negative one, as soon as you react or connect, you have inadvertently created a chain of events that ties you together, suspending that moment in your history forever. 

This is how powerful you are.

Even if you do nothing at all, you can connect with the energy of other people. You might simply walk down the street and it happens as you pass them, glance at them, or perhaps smile. 

That exchange, no matter how brief, gives both you and the other people an opportunity to learn something about yourselves. It could be strength, it could be fear…the possibilities are endless. But seeing you can trigger something within them that could lead to a major transformation and you will never know anything about it.

And that works both ways.

No matter how weak you think you are, it is your power, and not your powerlessness, that can really frighten you. Once you understand and accept this, you have the key to tapping into your power and creating ripples and waves that benefit you and everyone you meet. 

It’s like tapping into the energy of all other people, connecting everyone all together, and leading all of us in the direction of growth and fulfilment.

We are not separate from one another, but rather, we are particles of energy that collide and affect each piece of solid matter that they hit.

Your energy has the potential to affect everyone you pass, everyone with whom you speak or interact, no matter how briefly. In one way or another, you have the power to initiate great change and transformation in others, whether you know it or not.

Contemplate your energy, your power. Consider how it radiates, the message it gives. Then align it with your spirit and maximise the potential for it to serve its highest purpose.

Read: How to Access Your Inner Strength and Overcome Anything