Ripples In A Pond

Several weeks ago my dearest friend was telling me of a recent visit she had with an old friend.  The old friend brought along a guest that was more than an interesting new face~his life path and accomplishments in his field had actually influenced her own career choice.  That is a pretty astonishing coincidence.  What are the odds that a friend will unknowingly bring a luminary in your field of choice right to your breakfast bar?

Amazing.

To be in such presence, however remarkable panged her heart with a tinge of regret that she was not lighting her own beacon.  I have to suppose that some of us are intended to go about the world and be spokespersons, carnival barkers for certain paths in life and those certain ones of us are not necessarily the 'chosen' few but those of us best suited for a lifestyle that is in a constant state of upheaval, roving the world asserting change and willing to give up other of the bounties of life because those types of special contact, those small connections are simply not compatible with Life on the Superhighway of Change.  And I have to wonder if those 'chosen few' sometimes observe with envy the quiet moments of connection that bless the lives of extraordinarily ordinary individuals.  Balance is a tricky thing.

And it occurred to me that during our friendship how I myself had changed, how my views of my impact in the world had changed.  Inadvertently the influence of my friend, not by assertions of her own knowledge  but by observations of a life lived well and in balance, changed my own views and influenced my behaviors.  In turn my changes influenced others.... and so it goes. The Superhighway is not the only road to change.

Small things are huge.  Random acts of kindness reverberate across a planet. Lives lived well draw us in to observe and that observation changes us.  How can it not?  Observation feeds interest, interest feeds knowledge, knowledge feeds change and change ignites an energy that expands into the distance.... like ripples across a pond.

The stones we skim across the pond are the ones WE choose.  Even small stones make large ripples.  Had my friend chosen differently ... well... I'd likely not be sitting at this keyboard stuttering out my thoughts...  animals now well loved might have been in a feedlot or as ashes on an incinerator floor instead of where they are today...my friend is an remarkable individual that has lived and continues to live an amazing life.

I'm pretty thankful that the ripples from the stones she tossed across the water wound up over here.

Comments

[Pond Filters]

Inadvertently the influence of my friend, not by assertions of his own knowledge but by observations of a life well lived and in balance my view changed and influenced my behavior.

[Cynthia McGiverin]

Hi,
I came across your blog searching images on Pond Ripples. I am doing a grass roots film on the Bully Effect. Your comments on this blog are worth quoting. May I have your permission to quote you and reference this blog?
Please contact me with any questions,

Cynthia