Laundry Day

Do you ever wonder about the consequences of your seemingly meaningless actions? Ever wonder how the world would be different if you hadn't got out of class a little late, putting you in the moment and position to be asked directions from a guy who, otherwise, would have not arrived at this destination on time and not have met the people he met on the way there? How did he influence them? How did you influence him? How did he influence you? How had your getting out late of class trigger a series of events that led to... And what factors and events led up to your professor keeping you in class a little longer?

In middle school (and I think early high school), every time I signed off from AIM, I would type "God bless!" and "good night!" to almost everyone on my buddylist, even if I wasn't chatting with them at the moment. Years later, in my first year of college, I met Wils again at my Berkeley church by chance. We haven't seen each other or talked for four, five years. He asked me if he remembered that one time, long ago, when I told him "God bless!" that one night, randomly. Of course, I really didn't. Perhaps, just a little but vaguely. After all, I told everyone that nearly every night for a year or so. I couldn't really recall which people I typed that to. He said that he had happened to have a really crappy day and was feeling really down. And, somehow, randomly, I had typed him a "God bless!" He said that it had completely made his day. He said that it had made him feel totally better. He still remembered. He said thank you.

Do you ever wonder how that one kind action, that one mean word impacted the people around you? Do you ever wonder how it transformed people's thoughts and lives? What do you think might have occurred as a result of that one day when you decided you were too tired to give a sh*t about anything and, thus, said and did things that you normally would never do. How did that negatively affect the world?

So many say they want to live lives of significance, of purpose. They want to change the world; they want to leave behind legacies. They want to look back at their lives on their deathbeds and think, wow, look at what I've done! Look at how much I helped the world. Does it ever occur to them that, perhaps, changing the world only takes one little push? Do they know that just a smile to the bus driver, a gentle "good morning" to the bum on the street, a second to stop and give directions to a wary traveler, an extra dollar left for tip, and an offhand word of praise to a co-worker could change the way the world turns?

Do you ever wonder how much good and bad consequences may have resulted from your smallest, most thoughtless actions?

I do. It drives me insane.

"And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children."