Toss a pebble into a placid pond and watch what happens. Once the pebble breaks the surface and sinks into the depths of the water, small waves begin making their way toward the shore in all directions. It’s called the Ripple Effect. The wavelets produced by the pebble continue to form and expand long after the initial wave is created.
Life has a Ripple Effect as well. Decisions we make, actions we take move out and away from from us in directions that reach far beyond the boundaries of our awareness. None of our decisions or actions occur in a vacuum. They touch people in ways we are likely to never see. Their effects are unpredictable.
Whenever we act, speak or decide in negative ways, the Ripple we send out is of the same nature. A somewhat comical description of events highlights how the Ripple Effect can have negative outcomes. It goes something like this: The dad comes home from work and yells at his wife; the wife yells at the son; the son chases the dog; the dog chases the cat; the cat chases the parakeet . . . You get the picture. All this happened, not due to what the dad did, but due to something someone did to the dad at work. This is the negative side of the Ripple Effect. There is a positive side as well.
The “Pay It Forward” movement understood this positive slant. Random Acts of Kindness created powerful pockets of good will that helped change people’s lives. The Ripple Effect is another take on the “Reap What You Sow” reality.
We harvest What we Plant; More than we Plant; and Later than we Plant. If we Plant green beans, we get green beans, and much more than we planted. In life, when we Plant kindness, we Harvest Kindness in abundance – The Ripple Effect.
Can you imagine what might happen if we were all to cast positive pebbles into the pond of life? Wow! What a world that would be! Imagine a world full of love, kindness, grace, mercy, forgiveness, service, caring, compassion and empathy . . . just take a moment and Imagine.
As John Lennon sang, “Imagine all the people living life in peace . . .” I certainly can, thanks to the reality of The Ripple Effect!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
