The Ripple Effect

And so there remain Faith, Hope, Love–these three; and of these the greatest is Love.

~1 Corinthians 13:13~

When I was sent this quote by a friend earlier in the week, it felt very on track with a theme that had been dancing lovely circles ’round my brain for days, and I felt compelled to look it up. I came upon many parallel translations, the main difference being the final word, which has been translated as “love” in some Biblical versions, and “charity” in others. Hmmm… well, most certainly interchangeable, as charity is love, and love is charity. In one commentary I read, it stated that, “Charity is love to God creating in us love towards our neighbor. ” Hey, and if that’s what it takes, I say, “Yes, indeed!” Do unto others, right? But it goes so far beyond that for me.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about “The Ripple Effect”. You know? How positive thoughts and actions expand outward to effect others lives, who in turn will add to the “ripple” with their own positive thoughts and actions. Paying it forward. The truth is, we will never really know the full effect of how our actions effect those with whom we come in contact, which in turn passes along that energy to others. A simple “hello”, a genuine smile, compliment, or compassionate glance, can all have such beautiful effects of which we’ll never really be aware.

A few months back my beautiful mother was reading the book Three Cups of Tea and I watched as it sparked a desire in her to contribute to the village of Askole, Pakistan, which she was not only reading about, but with which she was also quickly falling in love. My mom is a conscientious Global Citizen of our Earth, with a very generous heart. I have been privileged to watch her share wherever she can, but this time I watched in awe as her latest project took on a life of its own and rippled beautifully outward around the globe. Go mom!

From her initial, “It’s really cold there, so I want to make scarves for the children in Askole! Do you think my readers would help?” came her post Get Out Your Knitting Needles! Sure enough, people around the globe volunteered to knit scarves for the children. Other bloggers became inspired, writing about the project, myself included, asking their readers to knit scarves for the “Scarf Initiative”. If my hands were properly healed, I would have knitted a scarf as well, but ummm.., my last attempt was on a 14-hour-day on the set of “The OC”, and… well, I would feel sorry for the kid! Honestly! Just mean! lol But, there was another role I could play, and that was to hear mom through both the joys and some of the ‘glitchy’ stuff associated with getting scarves to a very remote village in Pakistan. Each time she explained a new challenge with which she was being faced, she would laugh her gorgeous laugh and accept the new challenge as a part of the journey. She was always quickly rewarded for her positive spirits with even more support and assistance from friends, family and “strangers” alike. The scarves, hats, socks and mittens poured in! Each box was happily and most gratefully received by mom, who called to share her excitement.

This excitement will be carried forth even further this 20 November, when she hosts a showing of the scarves at a beloved local watering hole, Tierra Art Garden Wine. The next day, all of the scarves will journey from where they were lovingly collected in Northern California, to their new home in Askole village. It’s hard to know of the positive effects one has by sending soft, warm articles of clothing lovingly handmade with the greatest intentions to a remote village on the other side of the planet, but I’m venturing to guess that the ripples shall continue. Beautiful work, mom! Blessings to you and all who contributed. May the gifts arrive safely and be received with the love/charity with which they were given.
Please click here to view the Gorgeous scarves people made and to stay updated on the Scarf Initiative.