We like to think that one person can’t change the world. I don’t believe that’s true.
As one person, you have significant impact on your world. The energy produced by your feelings resounds everywhere. Your energy touches all of the people and buildings and cars and plants and animals that you meet every day.
Your energy can be enough to change the world. Or, at least your little part of the world.
But here’s the thing.
That little ripple of your energy goes out into the world and bumps into other ripples. And on and on it goes, a whole universe of ripples, with you at the center, causing motion to begin.
What kind of ripples do you set in motion?
Watch Your Ripples
With fast-paced chaotic lifestyles, it’s hard to be hell bent on peace, love, and understanding.
(Nick Lowe version here because there’s a sincerity here that is undeniable. He really means it. He also wrote the song, FYI.)
Maintaining a positive outlook and hope for the future of the world is a challenge.
In fact, it’s much easier to be negative. Complaining is easy.
No doubt at some point in your life, you’ve been the one talking up the latest tragedy, bitching about work, or bemoaning your latest aches and pains. Once you start complaining, it cycles on and on..
But caught on the wheel of negativity, despair meets you on the way down. Despair leads you to think that there is no reason to bother to hope that things might change because they never have and never, ever will.
Despair-Be-Gone
Therefore, do your best to make the signals you send to the world be filled with joy and happiness, peace and love.
It’s easy to write that.
But boy, is it hard to put into practice. I fail miserably.
I fail every time I get angry at work, and every time I’m angry at that slow driver in front of me. I fail every time I cuss out my cat for bothering me, and every time I complain.
But I do not despair. I keep reminding myself of joy and love and happiness.
Frankly, even in the depths of depression, I didn’t despair. I didn’t give up hope that somehow, someday, things would change.
What I didn’t understand then, was that I had to change.
What I really didn’t understand was, that as I changed, my whole world changed.
It’s as if I turned on a little light bulb inside myself and started to shine, just a little bit.
Shine On
So for today, do what you can to shine.
Your little light may be the only ray of hope for someone today.
And that sense of hope ripples around the world. Even if your world is just right here, right now.
Shine on, shine as bright as you can.