We are all individuals. We go through life and we try to make an impact on the world in our own special ways. We are the main characters of our story and we are still writing our stories. We are naturally self-centered creatures due to the machinations of life as human beings. All of this makes it understandable that we may think sometimes that the world revolves around us and that we are the only ones who matter at times. This kind of thinking can help in regards to self improvement, but it can be very detrimental to the overall collective idea of human cohabitation. Human civilization can’t continue when everyone just goes head first into their own lives without understanding their impact on others and the world around them.
You are not the only person walking down the street. Your car isn’t the only car in traffic trying to go from point A to B. What you do and say can have an effect on your environment. Berating your subordinate unfairly can have him/her go home and be a tyrant to their family. Mistreating your child can cause they to become a bully in school. Your comments and overall mode you project onto people can cause a plethora of residual effects. In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. Basically it states that a simple decision or action can cause a ripple that can effect someone or something completely unrelated. This is very true and people sometimes make light of how our actions can impact others. Hurt people hurt people and perpetuate a cycle of hurt and pain. The concept also pervades human communication and relation. Having a bad day doesn’t mean you take out your anger on the innocent. Just because you need to have a release of emotion doesn’t mean you inconvenience someone else.
Mindfulness of our ever changing place in this world is the key to a purposeful, meaningful life. I try to be empathetic towards others and make sure to not spread neglectful energy out into the world. I feel it pays dividends to have positive, impactful effects on someone’s life, even if its just a minor moment in a more eventful day. A simple consideration for how our actions, thoughts, feelings, and sentiments can affect a lot more than you realize.
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