Ripples
Ripples on the Mississippi River as I walked nearby the other evening. Ripples that came and went as a boat headed home for the day. They caught my eye and I watched them build and then recede, but they never really stopped. Consider the ripples along the 2,340 miles of this great river each day. Maybe someone else was downstream or upstream from where I was in that moment, watching another set of ripples come and go. That is comforting to me. A river calling us humans to pause and notice the waves and undulations of this significant river system showing itself in the few hundred yards in my field of vision.
The ripple effect of life is like that. There is so much more to it than meets the eye, but taking it in with the eyes is the opening to it resonating in our heart and souls. Ripples in our hearts and souls then go back out and create more loving impacts.
A small start can have growing and ongoing energy. A little wave can start a big ripple.
Recovery from alcoholism is like this in my life. So are forgiveness, healing, grace, gratitude, acceptance, mindful presence. A little work brings some relief and clarity. A ripple builds and more relief and clarity follow. Such healing knows when to roll and when to slow. There are periods of growth and periods of rest. Times of transformation and times of simpler travels through our days.
Like the river’s ripples, the flow is natural and guided by a source far beyond human.
Nature does throw some storms the river’s way, and our human way too, but with faith and time-and dare I say “going with the flow” - calm returns.
The troubles come when humans start hateful, hurtful, and destructive ripples, in themselves or the world around them. Unchecked, they widen and cause more negative impacts, even devastation. Even these ripples can subside if we come back together on common ground.
We exist in so many isolating silos today. The water sloshes and crashes against us, but we miss the peace that always returns to open water. We need to leave our silos, face the storms together, and be there holding hands and smiling when the water is smooth enough for us to see cleansing raindrops begin to fall and create loving ripples.
