This week I was chatting back and forth with my brother Nathan about the Impact Investment work he is doing in the Middle East and Africa. He made the comment,
"Drop a pebble, make a ripple"
I told him that thought would end up on my blog.
During my bike ride this morning, I took a handful of small pebbles to the pond in the park and threw them one by one into the water. There was no breeze and the humidity was heavy above the water. The ripple effect was gratifying and a perfect illustration of the point my brother was making. Small investments can have a surprisingly wide impact.
Similarly, small actions, a passing criticism, or a little word of encouragement can have an unexpected effect, for better or worse. We can cause ripples that bring good or create ripples of disquiet and distress. When I commented that I don't see news reports about impact investing, my brother said,
"The news rarely reports the news people need to see, just stuff that generates views and clicks..."
I cannot change the news cycle but can give thought to the ripples I make at home, at work, in my community and in the world. Does my wake create chaos or bring growth and peace?
My good friend treated me to the musical Wicked for my birthday and we attended a matinee performance in Toronto this week. It was one of the best musicals I have seen and I could have re-watched the performance immediately! I have been listening to the soundtrack and repeatedly repeated the song For Good.
Glinda sings,
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good...
Elphaba replies in the duet,
It well may be
That we will never meet again in this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.
Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you...
That we will never meet again in this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part:
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.
Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood.
Who can say if I've been changed for the better
But because I knew you...
I have been changed for good.
Whether I toss pebbles in the water or cross the surface myself, the ripples in the wake mark my path, moving toward the shore behind me, causing more impact than I can see. We may have been told in the past;- "Don't make waves" or "Don't rock the boat". Whether we create ripples or waves, may they always be positive actions that bring affirming change in the lives of people around us.
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