Leave your hand print

I saw this "graffiti" on a wall in the Albayzín the other day. (There's a lot of unique and often-times-beautiful graffiti in Granada).

I was reminded of my first trip to Costa Rica my freshman year of high school.

My team was painting a local high school. The walls were light blue. The trim was dark blue. And then someone had the bright idea to smack their hands, covered in dark blue paint, onto the light blue, freshly painted walls.

Of course I couldn't help but join in on the fun.

That day didn't exactly end well. We had to paint over the hand prints (and I distinctly remember blaming one of the Costa Rican students for initiating our gleeful art party, something I'm not proud of). But I've always been rather fond of hand-printed walls.

We long to leave our mark wherever we go.

We scrawl our names on bathroom stalls and carve our allegiances into trees. We long for the Employee/Student/Ridiculously Good Looking Human Being of the Month award to be hung on a wall where it will proclaim our significance to the world.

Graffiti: it's what we do.

However, I'm convinced it's the invisible hand prints -- the impact we have on the people around us -- that are of eternal consequence.

There is something within the human spirit that compels us to strive for significance. When we pair that with an inspired compassion for the people around us, we begin to move from selfishness to generosity.

I was inspired today by this quote from Ray Basile that I read on the Edge Project:

“Before you arrived you mattered.

After you arrived you mattered.

When you leave you will matter even more.

You will leave behind a beautiful footprint.

Because you matter, I will be forever changed.

You will not matter any less when you’re gone.

When we choose to take the risk to love without

holding back we make people matter.

My only hope for you now is that you’ll care for

yourself like you matter.

I’m counting on it because you matter so very

much to me.

I love you and I will miss you.”

Word.