For every action
Michael J Fox, a Canadian activist and actor once said “Everything is cause and effect. If you don’t move, nothing will move you and nothing will move toward you.”
Isaac Newton’s third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that everything we do will always have a consequence. While this concept is pretty familiar to all of us, there are certain dimensions to it that we may often fail to consider in our daily lives.
One such dimension is the fact that while all of our actions do have consequences, the effects of the consequences may not always be experienced by the individual who caused them. For example, take issues like climate change, discrimination or poverty. While it is impossible to blame a single person as the reason behind these issues, it is true that everyone experiences the effects that they cause in our world.
Another dimension to this law is that there are consequences for the actions we do not take as well. For every opportunity that we ignore, for every small issue that we choose not to fix, there is an experience that we lose, or a problem that we create. Additionally, delaying our own actions can also have an effect on their effectiveness.
Finally, the law also takes this form: regardless of how it may seem, our efforts and actions are always capable of creating change. Sometimes, repeated and strong efforts may seem to dissolve away without resulting in the effect that you sincerely intended to create. However, this does not mean that there were no consequences to your efforts. It simply means that your energy has taken another form which perhaps may not immediately benefit you, but will definitely leave a mark on our world.
Recently, I discovered the concept of Karma, which is the Sanskrit word for action. Iit is also the belief associated with some Eastern religions that the sum of our actions, both positive and negative will always return to us in some form. Think of our actions as seeds that we plant. Depending on what kind of seed that we choose to plant, a tree will emerge from it and bear fruits of the same kind of seed that we planted.
As we begin our process of growth by contributing actions that have the power to shape this world, we also have the responsibility to ensure that our actions have direction and purpose. This can begin in something as small as choosing kinder words when you speak to the people around you, but it can also extend to choices as great as becoming a leader for a group of people who wish to support a cause of growth and reformation.
Every action requires careful thought to ensure that we understand how it can affect not only us, but the people around us as well. However, when it becomes evident that something needs to be done, hesitation can only cause damage.