The Ripple Effect

The Ripple Effect 

“When things happen to us, it is the reaction we choose that can create the difference between the sorrows of our past and the joy in our future.”

My friend,greatfullivin, alludes to this in her Gratitude Journal as  “you often can not change your circumstance but you CAN change how you view your circumstance.”  I would like to add, depending on how we choose to view our circumstance directs how we are going to react. Once we “react” to a situation/circumstance, a whole set of chain reactions begin to flow all around us, creating The Ripple Effect.

When I came across the above picture depicting The Ripple Effect, it had a profound effect on me. I think it is the fact it is just the tip of a finger that creates so many ripples across the water. I liken this to the chain reactions we set in motion on any given day. A very basic example is how we greet people; either with a genuine smile and a hearty good morning, or a vague look and a grumpy “mornin.” Depending on which greeting we choose (and it is a choice each and every day), sets a tone not only for the person on the receiving end, but also for our entire day. If we begin a day, regardless of other circumstances in our lives, with a smile and positive outlook then the day will go better. For us and for the people on our receiving end.  Of course, it is also a choice of our receiver to put his or her spin on the “circumstance” we set in motion.

I was also entrigued by the phrase we… “create the difference between the sorrows of our past and the joy in our future.” Think about it . . . can a simple smile make a difference between sorrowful yesterdays and joyous tomorrows? I personally can remember specific days in my life that had I chose to offer a smile and sincere interest over a look of boredom and a tone of impatience, my life would be a lot different today. On those days, my touch into the sea of my tomorrows was more like an iron fist slamming into the water creating a major upheaval of water thrown all about. And I wonder why my life hasn’t been a peaceful ripple of gentle waves moving across my years.

George MacDonald wrote a series called “God Quotes.” One that is most appropriate for this post is . . .

“God’s finger can touch nothing but to mold it into loveliness.”   

God knew about The Ripple Effect. Do you?