Making Ripples

A look into the effects we have on the people we know and our environments

In life, we often spend too much of our time focused on survival and not enough time focused on the greater picture. Well, when I say that, I mean “we” as a species. I spend far too much time contemplating things, but I guess that’s why I consider myself a philosopher. I digress. Most of the actions we take in life cause chain reactions, having consequences known and unknown to us. A passing thought spoken to a friend in a forgotten conversation can become a daily mantra for them. I still hear my father’s random pieces of advice in my own head, but I’d place money that he wouldn’t recall giving them. These cause and effects, or ripples as I like to think of them, influence others which, in turn, create more ripples which span the whole world.

Truthfully, we can’t control the effects the ripples may have on the world around us, but we certainly have control over our actions. It’s important to consider our actions before we unleash them, because where you may have the trust built with a friend to tell them a harsh truth, the same with a stranger could shatter them. In my experience, a hurt person continues to send out waves of hurt, and you could have started a chain of events which could bring out the next apocalypse, or at the least cause them a looping pain they revisit every quiet moment of their life from then on.  On the flip side, the right encouragement to a stranger could give them that extra boost they need to achieve their dreams. I have a friend who I helped get into the medical field, and when he tells stories about all the people he has helped, it makes me glad for the ripple of positivity I sent out into the world.

Now, obviously, you shouldn’t do good deeds simply because it makes you feel good. No, scratch that. You should do good deeds for whatever the reason. I find if your actions align well with your ideologies it tends to make you a much happier person. That’s something I highly suggest you put in practice, too. Every day, make it a point to make one action that may cause positive ripples. Then, when you lie down at night, think about all the ways those ripples could wash over this world. I bet it will make you smile, and it sure beats staying up at night, thinking about all the mistakes you made that will cause negative ripples.

We humans have a bad habit of fearing our mortality, but if you think about it, we never really die as long as life continues forward. There’s the obvious ripple effect of bringing a child into this world, but even the effects we caused along the way continue on far into the horizon. The ways we impact those around us seep into our environment and, in a weird way, carry forward long past our own ends. It’s an interesting thing to think about, but one I think is just as important as contemplating ourselves. We may not always see what becomes of things down the line, but I’d bet each of us can name a few people who have impacted our lives for the good and the bad. Ripples which at times, are so slight we may not notice and some which wash over us like a wave. What an interesting thing to think about.

Ripple

To me

There is nothing in life as pleasant

As watching a ripple form

On a lake as still as ice

To live we go to work

Feed our families

Spend time with friends

And rest ourselves to repeat it all again

But we rarely stop

And sit

To see the changes we made as we went

Until all that’s left of us

Are the ripples