Ripple

Remember the butterfly effect? Wikipedia explains it as a principle of chaos theory that holds that “a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.” It derives its name from the metaphor that the exact details of a tornado can be influenced by a distant butterfly having flapped its wings several weeks before the tornado formed.

The new musical film “Spirited,” starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, includes a song called “Ripple.” The song has a catchy tune and the lyrics describe a principle similar to that of the butterfly effect. The message of the song is that, while no one of us in a single stroke can fix humanity’s problems, we can through bold actions create ripples that will over time multiply in force and lead to positive change. In other words, we’re all butterflies, and if we flap our wings hard enough, we can change the world.

I may have caught a glimpse of the butterfly effect in an interview I recently conducted for my podcast, “Higher Callings.” My guest was an African American man who grew up in Alabama but has spent most of his adult life in Northeast Ohio. He recounted a story of how, in 1963, he was attacked by a white gas station attendant in the Deep South. My guest and his traveling companions were on their way to a church convention and stopped to use the station’s restroom. The assailant accused them (incorrectly) of having been sent by Bobby Kennedy to integrate the South. The white man’s unprovoked violence toward the black man strengthened the latter’s resolve that segregation must be dismantled. Today, nearly 60 years later, the man who was attacked is a federal district judge overseeing the implementation of a consent decree requiring the Cleveland Police Department to adopt measures to address alleged civil rights violations. The man who attacked him nearly 60 years ago had no way of knowing that the attack would help inspire his victim to one day attain a position of authority over a process that would advance the cause of racial justice.

My podcast guest’s story is an example of how bad actions can have good unintended consequences that continue unfolding for years to come. But as the lyrics of the “Spirited” song point out, good actions can have positive ripple effects as well.

I may have caught another glimpse of that type of positive ripple last week. I was speaking with the Executive Director of a nonprofit professional association that I had served as President during the late stages of the 2008 financial crisis. During our conversation, I recalled for him that I had led the organization in a project to address the impact the crisis was having on the younger members of our organization, many of whom were unable to find or retain employment because of the teetering economy’s impact on the job market. We had convened a task force of talented leaders to brainstorm about how our organization might help alleviate the struggles of the suddenly unemployed and, at least temporarily, unemployable young professionals. The task force’s goal was to identify ways to help this most severely affected generation, culminating in a report and recommendation by the end of my one-year Presidential term. We all understood that there might be no good options that could meaningfully alleviate the impact the financial crisis was having on our young constituents, but we were determined to put some of our best minds on the problem and see what they could come up with.

The task force immediately went to work to define the problem and its causes and attempt to identify ways to help. Before my term concluded, the task force members settled on an approach that, had it been implemented, would have created a pathway to the successful launch of their careers for a small number of people affected by the downturn. Unfortunately, after I left office, the organization decided that it did not have the resources to devote to the project given the many other important priorities that needed to be addressed, and the project was shelved.

In the years that followed, I often felt that, despite other successes during my term as President, I had failed to achieve one of my most important goals. Over the next few years, I occasionally expressed my disappointment to the senior staff of the organization and friends who succeeded me as President. They tried to assure me that my feeling of failure was unjustified. They pointed out that during my year, I had effectively demonstrated to young members that our organization cared about them and could be a home for their professional development, and that as a result, many of the struggling members sought and found valuable guidance and support there. They also told me that the organizational focus I had helped bring to the needs of our young professionals did not end when my term ended, but that the torch had been picked up by future leaders who instituted enhanced programming and other services specifically for that demographic. And then last week, in our phone call, the Executive Director reaffirmed that the commitment I had helped to inspire towards the organization’s young members is still having an impact in new programming the organization offers even today. In other words, although the actions I took during my term in office did not have the immediate impact I had hoped for, I am told that they caused a ripple that, combined with other people’s efforts, has helped to produce beneficial waves.

From butterflies, to gas station attendants, to nonprofit leaders – there are many ways that our actions today create consequences tomorrow. Some are macro, effecting change on a broad scale, and others are micro, effecting change in small but meaningful ways. The “Spirited” song advocates for causing ripples in big ways. As important as large scale change can be, we should not overlook the importance of the little ripples our actions generate, both for good and for bad. How many teen suicides or mass shootings result from online or in-person bullying? How many lives could be saved if no one was made to feel a social outcast? Who can predict all the positive impacts of the occasional kind word, the word of encouragement, the smile towards a stranger, the courteous gesture and helping hands?

We may not, and most often will not, see the immediate impacts of our daily interactions with other people, but they are no less real, and we should not be discouraged by the time it takes for them to materialize. Despite all the bad news and reprehensible conduct that bombard us every time we turn on the broadcast news or go online, there are countless good people doing countless good things and acting in countless kind ways that never reach our attention. Maybe if we all committed to engaging in one act of kindness to one other person each day, and to refraining every day from harsh words or hurtful actions, we could build on the good that is already present and contribute to making this complicated world a better place.