Many look at that effect in their lives and say, "Why bother? My effort will go unnoticed in the sea of people clamoring for favor, success, or happiness." So they stop worrying about the little choices and efforts they make on a daily basis and focus only on the monstrous achievements they hope to gain. They succumb to the lie that THEY are insignificant until something they do or become rises them above everything around them.
The truth is, every ripple matters. Everything you do, every word you speak, every choice you make impacts others. The impact of those things affects change. Change lasts forever.
What if you don't see the effects? What if you move through life and do your good work but never see the positive impact you had? Well, I'd guess you aren't looking hard enough. But even if you were, there's no way you can possibly see all of your positive effects this side of eternity. It's not humanly possible.
What now?
Embrace every opportunity as Purpose. Know that you have meaning each and every moment. Your big-picture purpose may be to save lives or arrest bad guys. But you also have a purpose that weaves in and among every moment of your interaction with others. Make that purpose count before you worry about the big one.
Trust the ripple. Worry less about what you SEE and more about what you DO. Trust that even the small things you do will have a lasting impact on the people around you...and the people around them...and the people around them...and ...
Pay it forward. In the next thirty minutes, find a way to do a seemingly insignificant good deed for someone else, and then sit back and see what happens. I hope it sets off a spark within you that will ignite a fire.
Find the ripple. If you know what to look for it is amazing what you will see. Now that you know about the ripple effect look for it in others. One of the most powerful encouragements you can give in life is when you notice and communicate to someone that they have created a positive ripple effect.
You do matter.
You were made for a purpose.
It is time to make ripples...
Image of rippling water courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by