This past week I’ve struggled to feel like I’m making a difference. I’ve worked extremely hard and long, and I’ve not seen the results I’d like to see from that work. I assumed, therefore, that my work was not making an impact in the world.
So, I went looking for some advice, something to help me feel better. I came across the words of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810), one of my favorite Jewish mystical teachers. He said:
“Every person changes the way the world is. One person can alter the universe.”
As I thought about Rebbe Nachman’s wisdom, I realized, to some extent, it didn’t matter how hard I worked. Just being here, alive, impacts the world, or the universe, every day. Of course, that isn’t the best attitude to have! Better to make an effort, and the Jewish mystics, or Kabbalists, would say the real action is in taking action, or making effort. So, the fact that I do work hard daily to make a positive, meaningful difference does matter—and means I make a larger difference even when I don’t see or feel that impact.
And, you never know when what you do might have a larger effect than you think–altering heaven and earth.
What Impact Do You Choose to Have?
The question then becomes, “How do I, or you, choose to impact the universe, or the world?” I can choose to impact the world in a positive or in a negative manner. Or I can just live my life unconsciously, not knowing how I impact it at all.
Every action, thought or feeling has an effect on something. And if I do put energy, or effort, into my actions, they will create a result. Thoughts and feelings have energy of their own. They are things. I can use them consciously to add strength to my actions, and then the effect I have in the world becomes greater. I can choose to have negative thoughts and feelings or positive ones.
In each and every moment, we have the ability to make a choice about how we will impact the world around us. Will we think negative thoughts, smile or frown at the people around us, or take action to create what we desire or to make the world or our lives (and the lives of those we touch) better?
The Butterfly Effect
When you think about your day-to-day life in this way, your perspective changes, or, at least, mine did. I found that it no longer mattered that I wasn’t seeing the exact results I expected or desired. I realized that as long as I continued to focus on trying to impact the world, or people, in a positive and meaningful manner, I accomplished that goal. My being, my presence, would radiate that energy and impact something or someone somewhere.
Thinking about this reminds me of the Butterfly Effect. Chaos theory explains that a small change in one place, such as a butterfly flapping its wings on my deck, in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state and place, such as the creation of huge winds somewhere on the other side of the world.
In the same way, what I do, think or feel, or what you do, think or feel, sends a ripple effect around the planet. We simply don’t know what result our small or large, conscious or unconscious, efforts will have.
Do you feel as if you and your life impact the world…and beyond?
