Fogo and the People Who Show Up
There is a kind of person that this world does not celebrate enough. The person who shows up every day without fanfare or recognition. The person who answers the same question for the hundredth time with the same patience as the first. The person who notices when someone is quiet and reaches out to check on them
I have met more of these people here than anywhere else
They do not ask for anything in return. They do not keep score. They just keep showing up because they understand something important. Communities are not built by grand gestures. They are built by the accumulation of small consistent acts of attention
I watched one of these people last week spend an hour walking a complete stranger through a problem that had nothing to do with their own work. They did not mention their own projects or ask for anything. They just saw someone struggling and stopped to help
That is the kind of person I want to be
I think about what makes someone into that kind of person. It is not natural talent or intelligence. It is a choice made over and over again. The choice to pay attention. The choice to be patient. The choice to help even when it costs something
I have been making that choice more often lately because I have seen what happens when enough people make it together. The community becomes something rare. It becomes a place where people are safe to be themselves where they can struggle without judgment where they can grow at their own pace
This is not automatic. It requires maintenance. It requires every person who benefits from it to also contribute to it. The moment we stop showing up for each other is the moment it starts to fade
I have decided I will not let that happen on my watch
The windows are open. The people are here. Show up for them!!
