Blog #609: The Skeleton That Ran Away

Where I live in California…
Halloween is extra popular this year.

We’re still weeks away from Halloween night…
but spooky decorations have been up for a month.

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Maybe…

It’s because there are so many new coolly designed skeletons, witches, ghosts and spiders to buy. Some of them are ultra-scary and real looking…so I’m making sure I do my neighborhood walking in the daylight.

🎃

I was on my morning dog walk…

And as I rounded one residential corner, I noticed that a decorative skeleton that had once been struggling to come out of the grass in this yard must have made it OUT.

He was now gone.

The owner of the house was outside, so I asked:

Me: “It looks like your skeleton finally made it out of the lawn, huh?”

Him: “Only because he had help. Someone took him last night.”

“Took” is a kind word for “stole.”

The owner then let me know how he really felt with NO words left out.

I walked away feeling the guy’s angry energy.

The skeleton thief’s negative impact was multiplying.

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Energy.

Positive or negative.

The words, attitudes and actions we toss into the world have an impact.

Like a broken umbrella in the rain.
Like a car that won’t start on a chilly morning.
Like realizing you’re a day late paying the credit card bill.

Like the first bite of a favorite pizza.
Like the inspiring ending of a great movie.
Like the sight of your tail-wagging dog when you get home.

Good and bad…

Others feel us.

AND…

What they feel from us has the power to impact what they pass forward.

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Later that same skeleton-disappearing day…

I was reading the daily blog of a guy I follow named Seth Godin. I don’t know Seth personally…but he has been kind to personally respond to a couple of my emails in the past.

On this particular day…

His “kindness-themed” blog prompted me to send this world-famous business and marketing guru an email.

I wrote:

You’re a good guy, Seth.

Thank you for the kindness you continually shine.

With gratitude…

S.

Seth wrote back to me:

Thanks Shawn.

Keep leading, it matters.

For me…

Getting a response back from Seth was a pretty big deal. It felt as energy-giving to me as making a birdie on a golf course’s toughest hole.

His response positively energized my day.

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Is it positive?

Or is it negative?

That’s what we should wonder about the ENERGY we toss into the world.

Do we know?

We quickly notice what the energy waves of others feel like.

But are we as aware of noticing the impact of our own waves?

Others ARE definitely feeling what we’re giving off.

So what is it?

We should know.

Because it matters.

Unless, of course, we couldn’t care less.

Like energy-stealing skeleton thieves.

S.