The Domino Effect

As a child I played “dominoes.” Not the game, but the thing where you set the dominoes up, on end, then knock down one to see how they fall and knock down another, and then another and another until they’re all down.

It fascinated me; especially when I set them up and realized that only a small portion of the domino had to strike another to have an effect. If Angry Birds had been around when I was 10 years old, I’d have been an addict.

The thing is, that fascination with cause and effect was intensified when I became a cop, then later a journalist. The concept that everything we do impacts or influences another is not new. Knowing that we can control, to a degree, how we influence and who we influence is what drives me batty with bliss. I love that ONE person, no matter how young, old, inexperienced or knowledgeable, clueless or manipulative, can impact the world for good. Unfortunately, they can impact it for evil as well.

I try to live so that the vibrations, actions, words and thoughts that go out are positive. But I fail, frequently. Daily. Hourly. It’s hard. People act like morons and instead of stopping, breathing deeply and being compassionate, understanding or curious, I react. And the dominoes start falling.

You can’t control them once they start to fall. You can’t unring a bell. You can’t take back hurtful words. You can’t regain trust deliberately breached. You can alter or affect the next round of dominoes. You can change. You can forgive and be forgiven, but once those little blocks are tipped, the wheels of impact are set in motion. Think carefully before you kick them over in anger, or rage, or frustration or revenge. The effects ripple around the world.