Every step we take, every word we speak, every breath we take, ripples into the world and affects everything around us. We affect atoms, moods, and the future, simply by what we leave behind as we navigate through life. For example, I feel teachers have very little idea what a life-long impact they have on their students. They have to trust that it is so. And, thankfully, we are much better at taking responsibility for our litter. We no longer come across the garbage that was signature of gorgeous landmarks like Yellowstone Park back in the 1950s and 60s. It’s good to be aware of the impact we have and to realize that our past has as much movement in it as does our present and future. In stillness, we become mindful of all that motion. Whether it’s what we say, or how we clean up after ourselves, or a decision to help a fellow human being … everything creates the wake we leave behind that spreads out and out in a great fan behind us as we pass through life. Sometimes what we leave behind affects people and the world in ways we can’t even begin to imagine.
