The Ripple Effect

"It ripples everywhere."

• Marianne Heder
  

The Ripple Effect

It was a small airplane filled with all sorts of people. I looked around me and studied the others on this flight. When I say others I mean more than people. One woman sat with a large woven cage on her lap.

The cage contained a couple of chickens and a little straw. They were surprisingly quiet as we bumped along in the sky. I would have thought they would be more nervous. More like me.

I had been traveling for almost twenty-three hours to get to this point of my journey. I was tired and hungry. I was also without luggage.

By the time I had touched down in Central America my luggage had touched down, well who knows? All I had now was what I was wearing. That was it! The baggage service told me they would forward my things on to me. I knew this was a long shot because I was heading to a small island off the coast of Honduras. And, this plane I was on kept jolting the truth; my luggage would never find me.

At this point I was hoping someone would be able to find me in one piece! The plane bounced up and down, side to side. Were it not for the seat belt there is no doubt I would be completely shaken, not stirred. I couldn't wait to get back on the ground.

Then I saw the ground! The runway on this island began and ended at the ocean. I saw waves crashing hard against the rocks as they protected the small strip of asphalt from erosion. We were heading in, just like the waves. We were up and down just like the waves!

As we got closer, to supposed salvation, I held my breath and hoped for a landing that would keep me living for at least another day. I watched out of my small window. Rocks! Strip. Rocks! Up and down we went. Then, one bounce, and STRIP!

There was a small puff of dust and we were on the wheels, slowing so we could come to a stop. Then the door opened and we all began to disembark. At the top of the stairs one of the first things I saw was a hand painted sign. It was on a weathered rectangular board. It read, "Utila International Airport."

I laughed as the words were imprinted on my mind. I looked out and saw a small dirt road and a line of people beginning to make their way toward town. This was unlike any "International Airport" I had ever seen. There were no cars. There were no taxis. There were no buses. There were only feet to carry us away to our destination.

Then, my mind carried me to another destination. Here I was sitting with friends talking some thirty-five years later. It was strange to be in other surroundings and to have scaled so many years in a flash. I had gone back to Utila because my friend Marianne had been talking about how relationships were what were really important and the other things were "just stuff."

I had a similar conversation with Tracy Zitting just one day before. "If our business were to fail, we would be alright as long as we're together" she said speaking of her family.

Utila was where I learned for the first time that all I really needed was what I was wearing along with a tooth brush. It was there when I learned a small shared room and a community kitchen could bring tremendous joy.

I watched the joy bounce out of Marianne's eyes as she taught me about the "Ripple Effect." The Ripple Effect becomes powerful when we serve other people and they can feel our love. "Our love is powerful enough to ripple through thousands of people and through time."

I knew instantly this was true because that very moment I was able to feel the love of people I had developed in a land so far away, such a long time ago. It was a reunion of experience that has never really left me. I just needed to be reminded.

Take a minute and make a plan to send ripples of love today. Look around you and see who you can help along their way. Then, help them with the only purpose of offering the love of your heart. If you will, you'll begin to see the ripples of your action immediately. As you do this time and time again there will be a time when you'll see more than ripples. You'll see waves of love and goodness all around you. Hope you enjoy the surf!