Be a Great Memory

A Tribe of Up Article

By Steve Gwisdalla

Originally Published on February 13, 2025

Hello my friends. I would like you all to have a think with me today. Think back to a time when a stranger just made your day. Think back to a time when you had an encounter with someone, a stranger on the street or in a store, a server in a restaurant, or a casual acquaintance. Can you remember them? Can you picture the scene? Can you recall what made that memory so, well, memorable? After thinking about it, are you smiling?

Great memories are often born from unexpected outcomes. Scenario number one. After long days at work, your significant other and you are tired and worn out. You should cook at home, but do you know what? Let’s splurge a little and go grab something. Dragging and slogging into the restaurant, you meet the happiest and most cheerful server you have ever encountered. They are kind, funny, considerate, and genuine. You leave the restaurant happier, less tuckered out and vowing to return.

Scenario number two. You are at your child’s extracurricular event. A sporting event, concert, recital, etc. You are nervous (for them) and you find yourself incredibly anxious. Then someone sits down you faintly recognize but do not really know. By the time the event is over, you have made a new friend. That person was warm, gracious, kind, funny, and genuine.

My friends, I have dozens of scenarios like this in my memory. I have had the privilege of meeting so many amazing people and they inspire so many of these little articles. People who make the experience of living a day more awesome. Each experience that has created a great memory has taught me innumerable lessons about life and how to live. Allow me to share a brief story where an arena full of people taught me an incredible lesson about winning and losing.

My son is a soccer player. As if that was not stressful enough, he is a goalkeeper. My wife and I are quite literally on the edges of our seats from the opening whistle to the final one. One game about a year ago, we were playing in a tournament in Brighton. We had success over the weekend and were playing in the finals. We win the game and we win the tournament. We were playing a team from the east side of Metro Detroit. No problem. We play teams from all over the country. This team was different. This team was Ukrainian. Now, when I say Ukrainian, every player, parent, and fan spoke only Ukrainian, they all dressed in their national colors, and they sang songs and yelled chants like the European soccer matches you see on television. There were hundreds of them packed into the fieldhouse that Sunday afternoon. They were a good club. A great club. They played an incredible style of soccer. Their fans were loud and non-stop from the opening whistle. The game was back and forth, and these young Ukrainian soccer players were peppering my goalkeeper son from shots all over the field. When we scored to make the game 1-0, their singing and chanting only intensified. They peppered our boy with more and more and more shots. It was as if the fieldhouse was breathing with every play. When one of their players wound up for a shot, the entire fieldhouse held its breath. After my son made the save, a couple dozen people cheered and several hundred moaned. Then back to singing. It was electric. We held on to win that game 1-0 and it was the greatest sporting event I have ever attended. Sure, winning and watching my son get mobbed by his teammates was awesome. But it was that swarm of people, dressed in shirts that look like the Ukrainian flag, who surely must have been hoarse from all the yelling and singing they did, that made it so memorable. As we went down to the field, many stopped the couple dozen of us who were cheering wildly and weren’t dressed in shirts that looked like the Ukrainian flag that patted our shoulders, shook our hands, and were just as gracious in defeat as anyone or anytime I have ever experienced. They appreciated the complete and total effort those young men put forth on the soccer pitch that Sunday afternoon. Many found my son and congratulated him, shaking his hand and patting his shoulder. They were genuine in their appreciation. They made a great memory unforgettable.

My friends, when was the last time you were a great memory for someone else? When did you smile at a stranger and mean it? When was the last time you were kind because you know someone needed it? When was the last time you gave your last ounces of energy to a person because you know they needed it more than you did? If we turn off the noise, put our phones down for five minutes, I bet you can remember a dozen great memories. Up moments. The world is out there trying to help us, my friends. It senses when we need help and people are graciously sent when we need them most. Angels among us. When was the last time you were an angel for a stranger? If it takes longer than a minute to think of a time, strap your wings on and get to work. Nice is free. Kindness is currency and it is time to pay it forward!

Steve is a Dexter resident and the Owner of Better Place Consulting, a coaching firm specializing in success, life, and kindness coaching. Reach out to him at steve@betterplacemgmt.com.