I Thought I Was Just an Observer

My whole life I felt hopeless about the state of the world. More like an observer than a participant.

The world moved around me, but I didn't really impact it. Wars happened. Natural disasters happened. People died. The planet suffered. I watched it all on television and in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, life here just went on. I think that's why so many of us feel so hopeless and helpless?

From a young age we're confronted with problems that are unimaginably bigger than ourselves. What are you supposed to do about a war on the other side of the world? Or a rainforest being cut down? You can't, right?

So after a while, I think you become numb. You stop feeling like you have any influence at all.

At least, I did.

I didn't understand that I do have an impact. Where I want to or not. I am connected to this world. I am just as much part of it as anyone else. 

I eat, I breathe, I move, I consume, I do, I exist. Therefore, I impact. 

For me, that realization came through veganism.

The way I eat literally affects the lives of sentient beings. I used to think my choices wouldn't make a difference. Now I know they do!!

The other day I was sitting by the pool when I noticed the neighbors' kid jumping up and down into the water.

He was tiny, but every jump created waves. The ripples travelled further and further across the pool, bouncing off the sides and into each other. The whole pool was sloshing.

It made me think.

Maybe our actions are like that too.

We rarely get to see how far they travel, but that doesn't mean they don't.

A conversation. A sticker on a water bottle. A blog post. A kind gesture. A different choice at the supermarket.

Every action creates ripples. Some disappear quickly and others reach much further than we'll ever know.

Whatever your ripple is, don't underestimate it. Mine happens to be vegan stickers.