Sometimes words are more than words...

It's amazing what we say in passing, that can reverberate many years after they have faded. I had a moment like that recently

One day last week, I was sitting at my computer(not writing, which is what I should have been doing) when a chat box popped up. A friend who I hadn't talked to for awhile sent me an IM saying hello.

My first thought was to just say hey, be polite and quickly sign off. For some reason I decided to "join" the conversation. We talked for a few minutes, then this person said "It occurred to me today that you may not have a clue as to where you know me from." I knew this person from various social engagements, but that line intrigued me.

As I continued the correspondence, they told me of a few conversations we had once had when they were in a dark place in their life, and the path they were leading down was getting darker and scarier as the days went by.

To be completely honest, I recall moments of that time in my life, it was a long time ago,  but our recent conversation jogged my memory.

This person, told me that after our last conversation, so many years ago, 45 minutes after our conversation no less, they decided to make a change.

Today, this person is a few credits from getting a post-graduate degree, then going for their doctorate. I take no credit for this, I actually said as a joke "don't blame me for your path, you call my lawyer!!!" Their response was "You convinced me I could do it."

I guess where I'm going with this is, you can never know how influential your words can be until you have a moment with a friend and they actually tell you what you did.

Sometimes words are just words, sometimes words are just filler, but sometimes words are a call to action, and what you do with those words can change your life.