The Ripple Effect

We grieve together in the wake of the attacks on Paris. We grieve for the victims, but we also grieve for our loss of innocence. For our loss of trust. We are reminded that this kind of violence is happening all over the world and that all of these lives matter equally. We react even more strongly because it happened in "our world". The world where we can easily relate, where we frequently visit, where this kind of tragedy is a surprise. It was an attack on the culture of Paris, a culture we admire and many of us emulate. Somehow it feels close to home. Naturally, we want to "do" something.  

How we react is governed by our conditioning and our personalities. How we respond is a choice. I believe that violence begets only more violence, and that the calls for peace and love and compassion even for those who carried out those heinous attacks have some impact on the future. That what we can collectively "do" about it is to comfort one another in our grief, and to show kindness and generosity to those people displaced by recent horrifying events. To show compassion to one another as we grapple with the emotions such an event evokes, even if we disagree with their conclusions.

We must use the experience to be more mindful of where best to direct our own power. For some, that will inspire a great change and focus of attention, and I applaud those who feel so called to action. However, each of us has our part to play.

What we can do individually is to be more fully open to opportunities now and in the future to make a positive difference in the lives of others. We can educate ourselves more thoroughly about the causes of this great discrepancy in thought and beliefs, but we may never understand it. We can raise our children with greater tolerance and less prejudice than we have. We can be more attentive to the qualities of our potential leaders and place our votes with those who most closely reflect our own conscience. 

The greatest power I have is to make a difference to those I have access to. I can use that power by continuing to appreciate beauty and connection and to share that perception with others. I can teach with my words and my actions. I can comfort with my thoughts and compassion.

I know that what I can do is a drop in the bucket in the overall scheme of things, but I have seen and experienced the ripple effect and know that millions of drops in that bucket by millions of people, day in and day out, creates the wave that keeps the balance between peace and destruction. That wave reaches "my world", "your world" "their world" and all the world. It all matters, and it is all too close to home.