RIPPLE EFFECT

..The first time I heard the phrase “ripple effect” was in 1970 at a Richie Havens concert. Mr. Haven’s rendition centered upon a young man who woke late in a downtown hotel room; encounters numerous delays at check out and barely catches his flight due to traffic congestion. Frustrated, agitated and thoroughly frazzled, the young man finally enters his office after nearly 20 hours of travel. He angrily observes a pile of documents piled on his desk. Thumbing impatiently through the first document, he signs without ever comprehending its contents…sending 100s of troops into an ill-fated maneuver deep within the jungles of Viet Nam.



During and after the concert, I pondered the “ripple effect”. How this phrase profoundly conveyed the impact created by our responses to myriad stimuli within our physical and social environments for better – for worse. How with every thought 24/7, the individual is stimuli –whether or not they act upon those thoughts. This particular “ripple effect” possesses a powerful, vibrational energy emanating from its source, which although unseen, produces tangible signs of response, again for better – for worse.


At the very core of my mental meandering was a simple truth. It’s a matter of choice – how we respond to environmental stimuli or shape our thoughts. The choices, which best serve us and in turn the Web of Life, are those, which accentuate the positive. A day well lived is one where we have chosen to smile rather than frown, be patient rather than become frustrated, assist rather than ignore, appreciate rather than take for granted, show compassion rather than indifference. A day well lived is one in which the “ripple” we create nurtures all with whom we interact, gifting us a “sense of place” within the heart.





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