Ripples of thanks

Ripples permeate our world yet we are scarcely aware of them.  The ripples in space tell us about the universe and the big bang.  Electrical ripples and waves surround us but are rarely seen.  Still they are observable through the use of an oscilloscope and they help tell us about the nature of electricity.

From Charity Accelerator

Ripples possess an innate ability to interact with each other.  The dark rings in this photo are areas where the ripples act to nullify each other. The brighter ones are evidence of reinforcement. Human interaction can be much like these ripples.  At times we build each other up.  Other times we destroy each other.

This might be called karma, the sense of human causality to do good or perhaps not.  In some Hindu sects, there is the belief that karma determines future life.  Most religions have some type of belief that good begets good, whether it is with the Christian sense of charity, the Jewish belief in the mitzvah, or Islam's encouragement to do good works during the holy month of Ramadan.

I'm not one to believe in the religious sense but as I grow older, I see more examples of "karma" in the everyday.  Kindness that begets kindness.  Positive actions that encourage others.  Unlike the pond ripples, we rarely see the outcome of our actions but a few years back, I was fortunate to see it first hand.

A young man approached me at a charity event and said, "Remember me?"

I remembered his face but I'm really bad with names.  When he told me his story, I started to remember the details.  We had worked together on an Ethiopian famine relief event a decade earlier. At the time, he was an engineering student and I was working with an agency on campus ... and over the work, we had one long, ongoing debate.  His position was that the famine was caused by draught. I said that I thought it was due to the breakdown of societal and government institutions.

Then he said to me, "That debate made me very angry and I was determined to prove you wrong.  So after I graduated, I signed up to work with a charity in Africa and I have just recently returned.  I never would have thought to go without that discussion.  I worked there for a decade and it changed my life for the better in unimaginable ways. Thank you."

Chuckling at the memory, I realize he never did say which one of us had been right. But I can still see the scene in my mind's eye and remember the effect his words had on me.  I was dumbfounded as I hadn't realized until then how much we can and do affect others.  I had never observed the ripples.

For Erik

I feel this way again today.  I've always said that you meet the most wonderful people in this job.  I recently received a lovely thank you letter from a parent.  We have served together on the Special Education Advisory Committee for some time and her note with an attached article* touched me deeply.

She also mentioned that she enjoys reading this blog.  Hopefully without causing embarrassment, I want to say thank you too ... and thanks also to the many other caring hard-working parents I've met over the years.  I hope the ripple that is you may go out to inspire others for years to come.


* This article first appeared in Volume 11, Number 3, Summer 2014 issue of Autism Ontario's Autism Matters magazine. 


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.