The Ripple Effect: Las Vegas Shooting
“I alone can not change the world, but I can cast a stone across many waters to create many ripples.”
Yesterday, I had a lot of random outburst of tears after work when I finally took the time to read about Las Vegas. Everyone's talking about it, it's on every news channel, every social media site, and every CNN banner.
I've seen words used to describe this event such as enraged, furious, and devastated. I've also seen comments about how we are no longer safe as Americans. Whether you are black, white, Democrat, Republican, homosexual, illegal, religious, etc... there is a war raging against our entire universe and we're now a part of that terror.
...Or, are we?.......
When a stone gets skipped on the water there is an initial point of impact. The way the stone hits has two outcomes. Either it has the impact to sink straight to the bottom or it has the opportunity to come out on top of the current. If it comes out on top, it has a ripple effect on everything around it. It can skip one time or twenty times but either way, it's moving the entire body of water even if just by a millimeter. The difference between it sinking and skipping is 100% reliant on the angle, power, and fluidity that the rock is launched.
The Las Vegas shooting was our rock and a heavy one at that.
So, what were the ripples from the Las Vegas shooting?
Selflessness: Friends shielded friends, strangers shielded strangers, first responders charged in while others cleared out, surgeons forfeited their few hours of sleep, news anchors pulled all-nighters to ensure we were up to date on information, communities comforted those that lost and our nation moved a millimeter in the right direction.
Awareness: A white man killed 59 innocent people of all races and genders. He had no criminal background and no ties to foreign affairs (that we know of). For the first time in years, this isn't about color or religion. Nor is it about a stereotype and it isn't about statistics. This shooting was an attack on the human race. Something no matter what you look like, you relate to on an intimate level. When we become aware that the tragedies taking place around us have more to do with the deep hurt of our entire world than they do the color of our skin, religion, or sexual preferences, our nation moves a millimeter in the right direction.
Your time here matters: Ask a concert attendee that saved a life by keeping compression on a wound of their friend if their life mattered that day? The obvious answer is yes. Your life on Earth has a specific purpose that might have absolutely nothing to do with you. (Crazy, I know) While we are continually working towards our “big breaks” we don’t have insight into those “right place, right time” moments. Your life matters and every breath you take can move the world a millimeter in the right direction.
You will die: That word sucks but it’s true. At some point in your life, it is going to end. It might be tomorrow or it might be ninety years from now. Either way, the only thing that is guaranteed is that nothing is guaranteed. The Las Vegas shooting moved something in me. It made me want to be a more dedicated friend, a more present family member, a more understanding employee, a more determined writer and live with stronger grit for an Eternal purpose. It forced me to remember that my time here on Earth is not meant to be lived working, it isn’t meant to be lived pursuing a better salary, and no matter what car I drive or what clothes I wear, my life can be boiled down to one specific question. When my life ends, did I leave this world better than I found it? Did I help move the world a millimeter in the right direction?
So, I’m going to take a whack at answering the very question I struggled with yesterday as tears filled my eyes while watching those reporters.
Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people? I encourage you to stop looking at the initial impact of the rock and start looking at the ripple effects it brings. You have to spin it, put a little longevity on your wrist, and remember that for every second that rock spends on top of the water, it moves the entire body. But, unless that rock is launched, the waves may never move. Our job is to keep the rock on top of the water as long as possible. It's about allowing the rock to hit the water knowing that the ripple effects after it hits are those of selflessness, awareness, purpose, and fulfillment.
With every rock that is launched, we have the opportunity to move the world a millimeter in the right direction.
