I received one of the most beautiful letters in the mail today.

I swear I think I was secretly meant to live in the time before email and phone communication, because there isn’t much more that satisfies me than looking in the mailbox and seeing a letter from a friend.

The letter was an opportunity for a friend to express how much my place in his life had impacted him and he went into remarkable detail about how our time together had changed his life and served as a catalyst for him to “open his eyes” to the world.

It was a letter that stands on its own.

I have never received anything quite like this before and it allowed me to realize something very important: I feel as though there are these people in my own life, who are changing me daily, forcing me to reach outside of my comfort zone, enlightening me and expanding me. And I cherish them in my mind—daily—and appreciate them relentlessly.

But this process sometimes exists internally.

Since I moved to Boulder, I have made it a point to verbally express to those around me the importance of their place in my life; I have found how critical it is this afternoon.

No matter what we have going for ourselves and no matter how validated we “should feel,” you have no idea what could be going on for someone on a daily basis. Anything could have gone wrong, a comment taken personally or a mistake made that could potentially prevent someone from feeling whole on the inside.

Today, I understand this mentality that so many people probably feel things about those around them: appreciation, gratitude, love, warmth—all of which likely aren’t shared every time they are felt. And I don’t necessarily feel that every opportunity should be taken advantage of—I think that is a little much to ask.

I do encourage myself—and everyone—to speak it when you feel it as much as you can. Understand that we as people change when we realize we have changed someone else.

It accompanies this mentality of living fully and being conscious of your every waking moment, wanting it to be as much as it can be. Not needing to make gold out of every moment, but more an incorporation of breathing life into every moment.

Sometimes those people who never seem like they need the validation are the ones who need it the most.

If you feel it, express it.

Like elephant I’m not “Spirtual.” I just practice being a good person on Facebook.

Ed: Bryonie Wise