I sometimes wonder if the fruits I’ve born in my life have any affect on the footprint of time. What can I say, its hard to live in my head. Yet, every once in awhile, some person, or incident reminds me that I am an influence, even unwittingly most of the time. So I often act with caution when I elicit a remark or response and try and think of what the future ripples of that conversation or action might be. I also feel the pain of watching the ripples move outward from others and how it impacts the day to day, often times in a negative way. Like many, I am so alarmed by the ripples of hatred out in the world. When hatred, outrage, anger, fear and a whole host of negative waves ripple outward, there is bound to be repercussions by creating additional ripples outward from any and all they bump into. I cling to the hope that love, justice, hope and faith are just as powerful ripples outward that will influence the world as well.

I think its important to take stock in what kind of ripples I let into my life. Those that effect all of us are impossible to avoid. I can, however, choose how I respond to them. I try and make a conscious effort to respond to a negative ripple with a positive one, to cancel out the effect it can have on me. It may be extending a kindness, even outward to someone who had nothing to do with the negativity that passed my way, and sometimes it looks more like an exorcism, like speaking truth to a powerful lie, and stand like a storm in its pathway (that’s the Irish in me), and accept the consequences. Always, at the end of my day when I take stock on what affect I’ve put out into the world. I focus on what ripples influenced my behavior and how successfully I utilized them to change the world for better. Of course some days are better than others, but I have learned to never dismiss the small ripples of good I produce outward; they too, I’ve learned in hindsight, have future impacts on people.

So cancel the negative ripples, don’t let them continue outward, focus on love, hope, justice, faith etc, and lets move the world to a better place.