The impact of a decision

Greetings, this is Alcazar, Light Being

We have all heard of the Butterfly Effect. A small, minute action somewhere has an effect elsewhere. That is in its simplest terms. The dropping of a pebble in a pond produces ripples that are felt far away from the original impact point. This is not new, and yet, it is very easy to forget that on a day-to-day level our smallest actions can have an impact.

In a way sometimes our smallest actions have as great an impact as our biggest actions, because generally our smallest actions go unchallenged by us or by others. This is of course the case for positive actions, and also for negative actions. We might drop that piece of gum on the floor, thinking it’s not much. It’s not a crime. It’s a bit messy. Perhaps if we had been watched at the time we wouldn’t have done it. But a small animal can come along and eat that, or a bird can pick it up, and potentially choke on it and die.

Of course we might not be aware of the effect of our actions in such a case. The gum, before setting and whilst still sticky, might adhere to someone’s pair of new shoes. An annoyance for them. It might transfer onto a new carpet. An annoyance for the owner of the carpet.

In fact you can use your imaginations and look at your smaller negative actions, the ones that you think don’t really matter, and see what the fullest consequences of those actions could be. And I invite you to look at your small actions. Not to result in an overly critical attitude to self, but to result in the development of a mindset that fully appreciates that small things can have a big impact.

What of our positive small actions. We hear about this all the time too. How one smile can brighten someone’s day. How your loose change that you’re not going to miss can go into a charity box, and if we all did that, the cumulative effect would be much greater than the value of that small change individually.

Letting someone out on the road when it’s your right of way. Stopping to take time to talk to that person who you know might be lonely. All these things have a knock-on effect. Again you can use your imaginations and imagine one small positive action and where it might lead.

Because ultimately all decisions and all actions are in themselves quite small. And even the big actions that we might speak about, in a way are comprised of many smaller actions and many smaller decisions. How is that so, you might ask. I take the example of buying a house. A big step. A big decision that is potentially life changing. Potentially something that most people do only a few times as an adult, if at all. A privilege and perhaps something that most people can only aspire to do.

One big decision. But that decision, as I said, is comprised of many smaller decisions and many smaller actions. The decision to save up money for a deposit. The decision, at some point, on a personal level, many years prior to that purchase, that you would like to purchase a house. The decision to go out less so that you can save up for that deposit and the money you will need. Working back down through those decisions, for instance, the decision not to go out as much, might lead to a decision not to spend as much on your lunch at work. So you might decide to take packed lunches. You might decide to then look at a cheaper supermarket. So it might be that on a given day when you decide to buy an 80 pence loaf of bread instead of the £1.50 loaf of bread, and that might be a very small decision, but if fits into a much larger framework of what you’re wanting to do.

Generally most big decisions are not made out of nowhere. And it’s true to say that each and everyday we have decisions and choices to make, and the impact of those is not only on others but on our future and where our future is heading.

What about the example of a split second decision you might be faced with. So you might be out and about and you might see someone in grave danger, and you might decide suddenly that you’re going to risk your own life to help them. How can that decision have been based in past decisions you might wonder.
I tell you it is. Because in making that decision you decided, hopefully having taken account that your own life is important, and carried out a suitable risk assessment of the situation, albeit in that split second, you decided at that point, that that person’s life was worth saving or that that person was worth helping. Such an attitude of mind does not just come from anywhere and it certainly does not come from nowhere. It comes from the practise of, on a regular basis, viewing other people as not being the enemy, not being the opposition, but being just like ‘us’. People with problems that you might understand or might not understand. People with challenges. People trying to get on with their lives as best they can.

In a nutshell, that split second decision to do something to help others, albeit at personal risk to you, is borne out of a practise of compassionate understanding of others.

I hope I have given you plenty to think about. My only advice I am going to give is to ask you to be more aware of the decisions you make, be they small or large. And in that awareness be aware that the impact of those decisions is not only on others and the external reality of your life, but it is impacting on you and the direction of your personal growth, and in turn, the direction of your future.

I greet thee and thank thee. This is Alcazar, Light Being.

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