Make Your Ripple

“A simple act of caring creates an endless ripple.” These words have been engraved into my consciousness since I saw an inspirational video that shared that message. And it’s a message that everybody should be part of, including you and I.

In the video, an elderly lady is grocery shopping with her two grandchildren, a brother and sister. The sister spots a delicious cake and begs her grandmother to purchase it. The woman agrees, and brings it to the register with the rest of her items. Her total for her items was more than she had with her, and sadly she had to deduct the cake.

A gentleman sees the sadness in the little girl's eyes as she walks away from the cake, and quickly purchases it. When he brings the cake to the girl she is filled with joy, but the grandmother could not accept the kind gesture. The man would not take “no” for an answer.

He explains to the woman that when he was a boy, the very same scenario happened to him. And another gentleman saw his despair, and bought him the dessert. He told her that he is just paying it forward. She asks for his number so she may pay him back when she can, so he writes a small note and gives it to the children.

The kids and the woman return home, and they are so excited to give their grandfather the cake for his birthday. The grandfather says to his wife “we cannot afford this right now, you shouldn’t have bought this.”

The woman explains to him that another man had purchased it for them, because when he was a child another man had done the same for him. She tells him that he refused to be reimbursed, but he had given the kids a note. The note read: “A simple act of caring creates an endless ripple.”

When the grandfather reads those words, he is brought back in time to his earlier years. A time when he himself had written those very words on a note, and given it to a young boy along with a dessert that the child was unable to purchase. That child grew up to be the caring gentleman who surprised this family with his gift.

I would love to hear/see more stories like this. There are so many simple opportunities to create such a ripple. And that ripple can go on for many, many years. If you ever have the opportunity to brighten somebody's life, take action. If more people would go out of their way for one another, the impact would be tremendous.

Try to do something good for someone else, each and every day. In turn, those people will make their impact, and the ripple will intensify. The world is becoming too stagnant, people are floating in their own rafts and avoiding interaction. It starts with simple acts of kindness, and then you will notice more ways to truly help somebody.

Don’t expect to be rewarded, or for karma to pat you on the back. Don’t do it to boost your ego. Do it to make an impact on somebody else. The greatest reward is knowing that you are appreciated, even by a complete stranger. The littlest effort can bring joy in mass amounts, but you have to make the effort.