We don’t know how the things we do will affect others. We simply don’t know where those ramifications might land.
I’ve written about “cause and effect” a few times before. The reason for this is that “cause and effect” are in every part of our being. And doing.
There’s always the old (and worn out) “ripple” analogy. You stand on the bank of the pond. Pick up a slimy pebble. Heave it into the still waters of the pond. And “kerplunk.” Hundreds of ripples.
But it is true.
This is cause and effect is our entire Universe.
The influence we have is infinite. Everything we say and do will branch out, bump off, spin around, jump up, and touch a million other places. I don’t think we can ever truly know how our thoughts, our words, or our actions will reveal themselves on the larger universal stage. That is mainly because, most likely, we will never see those farthest-reaching effects of our actions. The effects of what we do will fall outside the range of our perception.
Our intentions flow forever outward. Our energy radiates outward. And this has a direct impact on the people close to us, as well as so many others we will likely never meet.
Nothing we do, however small or pedestrian, is ever exempt from the rules of cause and effect.
For that reason, we should always do our best — to speak, think, and act — with great thoughtfulness and compassion.
Our actions will ultimately touch others, either with goodwill and integrity, or harm and degradation.
It’s our choice.
You know, we’ve been doing this from the moment we were born. Our energy goes onward and outward. And this sets forces in motion. Things beyond your comprehension get moving all the way to the ends of the earth. We can offer care in this “active” energy simply by noticing our intentions and by finding ways to promote peace. We may not know where it will land. But we should send it on its way with goodness in our hearts.
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“A man is worked upon by what he works on. He may carve out his circumstances, but his circumstances will carve him out as well.”
― Frederick Douglass, The Portable Frederick Douglass
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“So everything is something else.”
― Nadine Gordimer, The House Gun
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“Goodness speaks in a whisper, evil shouts.”
— Tibetan proverb
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Sending it on its way. More than we know.
