Sometimes its the little things we do that have the most effect, and sometimes, maybe we don’t realise just what impact these actions have. Here is a story of mine that deals with this theme.
Ripples, a story
Jack gets out of bed and stretches his arms and legs. His old bones creak with the effort as he walks to the window and opens the curtains. The ink black of night has turned to a soft grey as the Sun makes its appearance on the horizon. Jack greets the new day just as he has done more times now than he cares to remember. Maybe this day, finally, would be his last..
“Why so melancholy my child?”
The woman’s voice startles him. Partly because he had not expected anyone to be in his room, and partly because of the word ‘child” ‘He laughed, it had been a very long time since someone had called him a child.
The woman walked over to him and stoked his cheek and said “You are all my children, regardless of how old you are in this world” She then then walked over to his bed, sat down on the edge and said “Now come over here, sit beside me and tell me what ails you, why are you unhappy?”
He walks towards the woman not really sure what to say. “Lady? is it really you?” Jack can’t quite believe his eyes, but he knows before him is his Goddess, just sitting on his bed waiting for him to talk. So he sits beside her and talks.
“I cant help feeling that my life has just been the biggest waste of time” he said. “ There are poets and writers and artists that have left their works for generations to enjoy after they have gone. I am no writer, poet or artist. There are musicians who leave wonderful tunes that will be listened to for a years to come. I play a few chords on the guitar but I am no musician. There are statesmen and politicians who have made or are striving to make a better world for us to live in. Their deeds will be recorded in history and remembered. There are those in jobs that are making a difference to their communities and changing people’s lives. I can’t claim to have done any of that. Over the years I have lied to save myself from trouble, I have a string of broken relationships or marriages to my name and nothing about me really stands out. “
After he had spoken, the Goddess looked Jack in the eye for what seemed like an eternity. He felt that he was gazing at the whole world. Finally the she stood up and went to the bookcase across the room. “what you say is only partly true Jack, but it does not tell the whole story. Sure these authors have left us some great books” She move to the rows of CD’s and Vinyl LPs and continued “there are certainly many talented musicians who entertain us and leave their magic for us to enjoy, even after they have gone, but many of these artists were tortured souls in their lifetime. They left us marvellous gifts, but they did not all enjoy life.” She walked back to the window and turned to look at Jack. “ There are certainly politicians who have made changes for the good on humankind. But there are also those who are self serving, intent only on carving a career for themselves. It is also true that some of the ideas of great thinkers have been discredited years later as new ideas are put forward. My point is Jack, you don’t have to be great and famous to make a difference. It’s the ripples that matter”
Jack looked confused. “Ripples?, what do you mean” he asked.
The Goddess said “when you throw a pebble into the pond, it sinks and is gone in seconds the splash too, only lasts a moment. But the ripples caused by the pebble spread further and last longer. The small things we do in our life can have more far reaching effects. Everything we do spreads out all ways, everything we do spreads out always”
“Well that is all well and good” said Jack “but can you give me a bit more?”
“OK Jack do you remember telling stories to the scouts when you were a leader?” asked the Goddess
Jack replied “Yes, of course I do. My old leader used to tell stories and I kept the tradition going. I loved telling those stories around the campfire”
“Yes, but did you know that those stories encouraged one of the scouts to become a writer of some success?” replied the Goddess. “He enjoyed them so much that he knew that is what he wanted to do.” The Goddess continued “ Do you remember helping an old lady when she fell in the High street when you were a teenager?”
Jack thought for a moment, then he remembered the incident. “ She was not feeling too well, and only popped out for cat food, but she tripped and fell and lost some of her shopping. I helped her up, bought her a cup of tea from the café and then gathered her shopping. I remember not seeing any cat food in her bag, so I went to he shop next door and bought a couple of tins. I had forgotten about that incident”
“Old Mrs Morris never forgot about it” said the Goddess, “ It changed her view on young people for the rest of her days in this world. Up to that point she viewed teenagers with fear and suspicion, always wondering if they were going to steal from her. But after that small act of kindness, she changed her views and became a strong advocate for not judging the young by their looks”
The Goddess walked back to the bed and sat down again. She faced Jack and said “How about the time you found that wallet. Do you remember that?”
“Oh yes” said Jack “ It was stuffed full of notes, a couple of hundred quid I think. I was so sorely tempted to take the money, I was so broke at that time”
“Yes but you didn’t did you?. What you did was to look for any contact details in the wallet that might identify the owner. You found a driving licence and the address was close by. So you got on a bus and went to the address, found the owner and gave him his wallet back”
Jack smiled “ yeah, he was ever so grateful, could not stop thanking me. A bit over the top he was, but at least he was grateful”
“Well” said the Goddess “You would have been grateful too. Did you know he was going through a messy divorce, and that the money in the wallet was that months child maintenance? If he had not been able to pay it to his ex wife, it would have made the access hearings so much more difficult. He may have lost his access to the daughters he adored. But fortunately, you handed him the wallet, with all of the money safe, within hours of him loosing it.” She thought for a moment and then continued “There was also that time you gave that young girl the bus fare so she could get home. Remember that?”
Jack did not immediately remember the girl, and so the Goddess related more of the incident “You saw the girl, early evening, she was crying by the bus stop, she had lost her bus fare and could not get home easily. She was worried about what her step father would say or do to her if she was late home. You gave her the bus fare home. Remember now?
Jack replied “Oh yeah, I do now. I had only enough money for my own bus fare and so I ended up walking home. Took me two hours!” Jack laughed at the memory. “ I was not sure she was not making up her story, but I gave her the money anyway”
The Goddess Smiled at Jack. “She was not making up a story Jack, she was deadly serious and you saved her from a lot of grief from her step father, years later, she came across a young girl in similar circumstances and she remembered your kindness and so helped the girl. The Goddess continued “ Those are just a few examples of the ripples you have left as you have gone through life Jack. There are many more examples but we would be here for a long time if I recounted them all. I am a busy woman Jack and can’t be here all day” She got up and smiled at Jack. “My advice is for you to get dressed, have a cup of tea then go for a long walk in the nearby woods. Think on what you have done over the years and then if you still think it is all bad and there is nothing good, well, if that is the case we will have another little chat tomorrow. But now, I must go, but you know I am always here with you.. Remember.. It’s the ripples in this life that go out all ways, it’s the ripples in this life that go out always” No sooner had she spoken these words than she was gone.
Jack looked around in confusion. The Goddess had been sitting on his bed, HIS bed!. And now she was gone. Was she ever there at all? Had this all been some weird daydream or waking nightmare caused by that late night wine and cheese binge yesterday evening? No Jack knew in is heart, that the Goddess had been there. She had given him instructions too! Jack knew enough to realise that you do not disobey the Goddess. So he got dressed had a cup of tea and went for that long walk. He was out for a very long time and it was early evening when he returned home. By this time he was very tired and so he went to bed, where he slept peacefully for the first time in ages.
The next morning Jack gets out of bed and stretches his arms and legs. His old bones creak with the effort as he walks to the window and opens the curtains. The ink black of night has turned to a soft grey as the Sun makes its appearance on the horizon. Jack greets the new day just as he has done more times now than he cares to remember. Today was going to be a good day. His eyes turn to his neighbour’s garden and the bike that is in bits on the lawn. Today, he thinks he will help the lad fix that bike or at least offer him use of his tools and workshop… But first , a cup of tea.
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