Footprints and Imprints

On a visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park I found myself in awe of how many footprints were in the sand! What is it that I want to leave? In this place with high mountains and big sky I found myself among millions of grains of sand against the backdrop of mountain peaks that seemed to touch the sky - and I was struck by the value of small, the value of each footprint.

I am not alone, we are not alone. Our footprints are here and gone. What I add and subtract in this moment by how I bring myself to this place, is the footprint I leave. I may never pass this way again. Trite, I know, but I may never meet the stranger again who smiled, who held my door, who greeted me along the path. In turn can I give the same smile? The same gratitude for sharing the beauty of this one wild and precious life?
The footprint may fade and I hope to leave an imprint of love, grace and gratitude for the stranger who at first I did not understand. Gratitude for the Insight of the stranger, for things I may not have experienced, books I may never read, places I may never go. In that one fleeting moment of holding the stranger - I hear God! Not a footprint, here and gone, but an imprint on my soul. The days and weeks may pass from my consciousness like the footprint in the sand, but it will always be a part of the fabric of who I am, woven gently into my being. Grateful to have found a place in my heart to welcome myself and welcome the stranger.