During my walks, I often find pennies. I always stop to pick them up, being born of children of the Depression. I rarely find nickels, dimes or quarters. I guess the people who drop those figure it’s worth bending over to retrieve them.
One day I realized that all the pennies I find are new. I thought about this, and surmised that the pennies I would naturally spot would have to be shiny, thus reflecting the sunlight up toward my eyes. There are probably lots of old dull pennies that I walk right by.
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Because I walk six miles or more each time I go out, I have a lot of time to think. As I thought about my found pennies, I formed a theory about how shiny pennies relate to people.
I noticed the pennies that shone. I didn’t notice the pennies that didn’t. Isn’t that the way it is with people? When we think about the people that get noticed, we realize that they get noticed because, in some way or another, they shine.
How do they shine? People can shine in many ways. Some people shine through their intelligence, or athletic ability or looks. But not everyone can be smart, athletic or good looking. But I do believe everyone has the potential to shine.
Anyone can be determined, faithful, kind, helpful, devout, cheerful, caring, organized, empathetic, optimistic, punctual, dependable, hard-working or sincere (this list could go on and on). These are some traits that shine through every bit as much as good looks or book-smarts.
So, the lesson is this is that, no matter your station in life, you can shine like a new penny. And people will notice. Go on. Brighten the world around you…and get noticed…shine like a new penny!
Chris Schuneman
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