The Ripple Effect

Someone somewhere at some point has prayed for you.

Maybe it wasn’t a formal prayer, maybe it was simply a well wishing, or maybe you were included in some stranger’s general prayer for world peace.  Or perhaps it was a fervent on-the-knees-contrite –with –broken-heart sort of prayer. No matter how it came across, I can guarantee you someone at some point sent you some good vibes through a thought or feeling. Because at some point in your life, whether you meant to or not, you meant something to someone and they wanted life to be good for you.

Do you ever stop and wonder what kind of effect that has had on your life? Someone has cared about you, have you ever wondered how that has changed you?

I’m a firm believer that my love changes things. I’ve seen it happen- when I focus my love on anything or anyone, things change… and always for the better. It’s amazing how quickly things turn around when I pour on my love. And I am 100% confident that the ripples from the outpouring of my love reach the ends of the earth. Facetious? I think not.  After all, it’s scientifically proven.

The ripple effect is a scientifically proven phenomenon that states that every action causes a series of effects that expand outwards incrementally. Like a pebble being thrown into a pond the ripples form waves outwards forming a beautiful circular pattern of ripples. The most famous example of the ripple effect is shown through economics where an individual’s reduction in spending reduces the incomes of others and their ability to spend. Everything we do, every decision we make, changes the world around us and that is the ripple effect.

I’ve learned from working with people that on some level, everyone wants to make a difference.  Everyone in their own way wants to send out ripples of their goodness.  And yet far too often we find ourselves in the midst of negative ripples. Think of a negative ripple effect. Maybe someone at a store who set you off and not only did you never go back, but you told everyone about the bad service. Think about the person who set you off, and because of your negative reaction, they went home and treated someone the way you treated them, and then that person created chaos for the next and so on. One interaction gone wrong and negative ripples were sent out in all directions affecting more people than you can imagine. But, if this is not what we truly want to happen in our world, why do we continue causing these ripples?

We are unconscious of the power of the ripple effect.  We might “get it”, (oh ya, Crystal wrote a cute piece about how we affect the world around us, so nice…) but we don’t truly understand it because if we did we would begin to understand the importance of stopping negative ripples in their tracks.

You have to be in control of your ripples.  Know why? Because just like in the example above, with a stone being cast into water, eventually those ripples will reach a rebound point and come back for you. The stronger the waves you put out there, the more momentum they will have when they hit their bounce back point and guess what that means for you and everyone who was in between you and your rebound point? Have you ever caught yourself saying, “Man, bad luck just comes at me in waves!”  Ya, you sent out bad ripples my friend and they came back.

Successful people aren’t happy because they are successful, they were happy first.  They sent out the right ripples. They were on some level aware of the ripple effect,  how to stop negative ripples, and start positive ones.

It’s The Little Things Like

- shaking the hand of the person bagging your groceries

-letting someone in front of you in a line

-opening the door and actually smiling at someone

-having compassion for the overworked and underpaid waitress, customer service rep, ticket taker, etc.

-speaking to the manager of a store and working things out so that you can give a good review later

-spending time with an animal or child who needs attention and love

-telling the person at the drive through to put your change towards the car’s order in back of you

-stopping to help change a tire

-smiling patiently at a screaming baby and her sleep deprived mother

-texting someone randomly to tell them how much they mean to you

-lightening up a stressful situation with a cheerful comment or joke

-actively listening to someone who is having a hard time explaining their point of view

-surrounding yourself with positive people who also put out happy ripples

-consciously deciding you will not be a part of a negative ripple effect

And finally, my favorite mentioned at the beginning of my blog. Simply pray. Send someone a well wish, good vibes, whatever you do to pour your love into them.  I believe that the strongest ripples are the ones that come from your heart. You never know how those ripples will expand and change your entire world. One day you’ll wake up and feel the rebound of that love and wonder how life got so good!

Want more clarity? Check out my website at www.clarityistheway.com

Follow me on your favorite social media platforms @clarityistheway and don’t miss my LIVE periscopes every Wednesday noon MST for more positive ripples.