 |
| Doves are a symbol of peace. They're also fairly humorous when they cock their heads back as if they challenging you to say what you said again, brah! (Teehee) |
This weekend, I've had the opportunity to spend an absolutely fantastic day with some of the most meaningful people in my life, which unexpectedly, has also lead me to consider just how meaningful the smallest of our actions can be in the lives of those around us. Lets talk about that.
Every action has meaning in our world. While as a statement, that is not a very profound thing to consider, when one explores the true scope of their actions and their possible effects on the world, it becomes truly astounding how much of an impact your seemingly small and perhaps relatively unimportant life may have on the world.
Consider, for a moment, that the world exists with, or without you, and continues to do things as it will regardless of you. While not an empowering statement in itself, it is necessary to understand that the world is always on a path. Things will always be happening. The empowering thing to understand about this, is that you, as a single human, are powerful enough to affect the history of the world, by simply doing nothing.
While doing nothing is hardly unmemorable, consider the fact that world works in what can be compared to waves. Every action has a consequence that is felt infinitely beyond it's initial impact. The dropping of atomic bombs is felt to this day by the "Hibakusha" as they are known in Japan. The destruction of Twin Towers in America is an event that is memorialized every year to this day. Both these events are the results of people's choices to take action in life.
So what has doing nothing done? In my favorite example, there is the remarkable case of Adolf Hitler, the infamous German fuhrer of World War 2, cited as responsible for many atrocities in the world. For you see, Adolf Hitler's life continued as a result of one man's choice to not take action. During World War 1, Hitler was injured in battle and was recovering in a field hospital which was captured by British soldiers. The man who entered the tent came upon the piteously injured Hitler, and decided to do nothing, allowing him to live on and commit the atrocities he became known for later in life.
Now consider how that man's choice to not take action can potentially be attributed as the cause of World War 2 and it's atrocities. In the same way, your choices at this moment to do nothing have that same amount of power. What might you be doing to the path of mankind's history by the things you do or do not right now? The possibilities are forever endless, and in some cases, even your most seemingly insignificant decisions can change the lives of those you come into contact with.
Yesterday, I had the greatest pleasure of spending my day with a group of the most important people in my life, some of which I have mentioned before for the decision to be my brother in blogging, their penchant greatness as a happy and friendly individual, or their social awesomeness despite their belief in their own social awkwardness. Who I had not mentioned in the past however, was the man who we had gathered together on the day to celebrate his birthday (despite it actually being today, Happy Birthday my friend.)
This great friend of mine was not always such to me you see. When we originally met in the junior years of high school, he found it endlessly amusing to tease and in all technicality bully me to no end. It was not a fun period of my life, and I absolutely hated going to school because of him. Infamously, he is in fact one of 3 people in my entire life that has driven me to violence in an effort to get him to shut the hell up. (Being a very friendly and patient person, that is an extremely difficult thing to manage.)
The interesting thing however, comes in how profoundly affected he was by something I did merely as something I would always do. He had been playing sports of some kind when someone tackled him and severely injured his leg, making it extremely difficult to get around the school, which enjoyed scheduling lessons up and down the various flights of stairs. Despite being injured, the people he was friends with at the time found it funny and simply laughed at him and his plight. To his shock, the last person he ever expected to help him, walked up to him and did just that.
Various factors throughout my childhood resulted in my belief in being a better person in the world, not the least my motto "Be The Miracle". As such, I thought nothing of helping someone who had so badly wronged me. As my fried recounted with awe at his birthday party, he asked why me, the person who he had literally driven to try and injure him, was carrying his bags and helping him get around the school. My answer, if I didn't help him, I would merely be perpetuating this cycle of cruelty, and would rather be the person who helped those around him, instead of having to live looking over my shoulder for any knives that may be coming for my back. I even went to him the next day to see if he needed help again to get around the school.
4 years later from that event, and it still makes me feel amazed at how much those words and actions have influenced my friend, and the respect that has for me as a result. When he tells that story, I can hear how much those actions, and our continued friendship means to him, and it something that continues to fill me with awe and joy to have been such a positive piece of somebodies life. When I sat there in the Jacuzzi with those friends of mine and looked at the respect they held for me when my friend specially mentioned myself for the things we had done together, and even my girlfriend who had joined me that day to continue what had become a tradition for myself to arrive early, and leave late, helping to set up for the party and being there with him to the end. (Though perhaps slightly earlier than the end in this case, since sleeping over was not quite an option when my girlfriend was with me. I don't begrudge that in the least though.) In all honesty, as I sit here and write these words and think about the genuine smiles and congratulations from my friends, I cannot help but feel slightly teary eyed. (It's dust... I'm sure of it! Haha)
So the next time you are sitting thinking that your life may be pointless, just remember the fact that our actions, and even our decision to not take action, can, and does have a profound effect on the world, whether you realize it or not. The things you do today can cause the next world war, change mankind's history, or even change the lives of those around you. You are never powerless.
In any case, that's all I've got for this subject. If you have a story of a way that you had a profound affect on somebody's life, let us know down in the comments below or via Facebook/Twitter as we here at TCSA love to hear from you guys. Of course, your sharing of this post with your friends who may or may not need a motivations boost will likely be appreciated by them, and definitely appreciated by us here at TCSA. Better yet, if you would like to read more posts like this one, then do be sure to like the Official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter via the buttons on the bar to the left so that you can get all the latest posts, as they're published. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.
Live well my friends.
