Who would have thought that relationships and their ripples would have such a profound impact on life, everywhere?
Relationships present an opportunity to evolve in one’s own relationship, along with all others equally, as it is the consistency and willingness to keep going deeper with oneself and others that keeps us evolving. It’s our relationship with self-love, and the level of care with which we handle ourselves and move our bodies, that allows us to naturally be this way with others without the need to try.
Some may say they have forgotten how to be in a relationship, especially if they have not had a partner for a while, but actually from my own experience we are always in relationships, not only romantic relationships. What matters is how we treat, care for and respect ourselves, as this is what we are then able to bring to all our relationships with others.
It was not until I brought my attention inwards to self-reflect that I really started to get a sense of what this is all about. My life consisted of focussing on my work first and foremost, and so long as I was able to fit in everything I had to do, along with the ‘to do’ list I always had with me, then I was managing life. But because I was so exhausted there was a limit to the depth of quality I could bring to all areas of my life. So clearly things needed to change.
Having lived a busy, hectic life with work, I started to create quiet time – ‘down time’ I called it – that helped me to stop and really consider that the way I had been with myself was not what it could be.
I decided to make my life simpler by making choices to go to bed early, wake up early, eat healthily, rest, swim, all with the awareness that I needed to be more gentle with myself.
After building a relationship with myself in this way, I started to realise that being in relationships is not as one might think, nor what one might be initially open to.
And so to the ripple effects…
Take for example: you wake up in the morning and you are still carrying something unresolved from the night before and maybe even the night before that. How do you think or feel your movements will be with yourself while you get ready in the morning? Possibly anxious, angry, sad, confused, unsure, disturbed, out of sorts etc…?
So what about if you live with another, how would you be with them at this time? More than likely the same, or trying to hide that this is going on, or you may feel the need to release it on to them.
What are the ripple effects of your chosen movements on this particular morning? Most people would naturally pick up on how you’re being and moving, and from there they would try and help you, take it on, try and avoid you etc…
I have experienced being on the receiving end of this, but I have also been the one acting in this way. What I have observed are the ripples that this has on my day and then on all those around me – whether I have received it or created it, the results are the same.
So let’s turn this around: what would the day look like if we started free of all these emotions, and instead were full of joy? Would we enjoy getting ready and spending more time on ourselves perhaps, preparing for the day to come, enjoying connecting to whomever we see in our day?
This is now becoming my normal way of living. I start full of energy, wanting to get stuck into my day, loving getting ready, while really enjoying connecting with myself and others before leaving for a full day’s work that feels effortless and easy, making me feel like I can handle anything thrown at me.
The ripple effect here allows others to do the same, by showering an energy that reflects to them a different way of being that can inspire them to let go of negative thoughts and emotions. Children can often be seen to respond to this rejuvenating way of being. We all can feel that the energy in a whole room can change as the positive ripples are felt, so why would we not choose this way of living?
Changing ill behaviours into loving, respectful and harmonious ones can be challenging, especially if we are not willing to see that some, if not all of our behaviours, are in fact creating a ripple effect on our own lives and on society.
We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has. If someone had sat me down and told me that by being a certain way we create a different ripple effect, I would not have understood, and most probably would not have seen the importance of being responsible in all my relationships.
The willingness to see how we live and the commitment to consistently be honest does create ripples in our relationships. After starting to establish a certain quality, i.e. living with a deeper level of self-worth, respect and gentleness with myself, I have then been able to bring those qualities to all others and begin to build more intimate relationships all round.
By Amina Tumi, 36 yrs, Hair & Beauty Salon Owner
Further Reading:
Leaving Things to the Last Minute
Starting With Self-Care – Service in the Hospitality Industry
Understanding in relationships – how judgement contributes to abuse
473 Comments
We are constantly in relationship with everything… even the delicate rippling movement of air can be felt by us all, all of the time.
Yep, the more solid we can be in the relationship we have with ourselves and the rhythms we choose, the more opportunity we leave open to others to do the same and feel supported.
Beautiful Amina. I love the clarity you bring to the ripple effect. Understanding this can be completely life changing.
Thank you Amina and yes so true. If we start our day in a rush and a grump, then these ripples are going to have a negative impact not only on our entire day, but all those who cannot help but feel them. When we offer our selves some space to lovingly connect with our body, then every ripple carries a different quality and message. No more creeping around on eggshells, when we make the effort to connect to our tender love within us and other people, it establishes a steady foundation we can return to throughout our busy days, as the ripples flow out, touch other people with the same quality and return to us later on in the day.
Sometimes we don’t appreciate just how far our ripples can spread in terms of inspiration and the touching of someone else’s heart. Equally we don’t want to see just how far our ripples can spread in terms of the hurt we can cause in another. Whichever, we choose there is a responsibility to wake up to.
I am beginning to feel just how important consistency is in how i am when I go to work – being truly and genuinely consistent every morning when I arrive and when I leave, just being myself can be a reflection that we don’t have to be worn down by life.
We are in relationship with everything all of the time and the quality we choose to move and live in determines our contribution to this and what we see in the reflections offered back to us. Very humbling when we have allowed ourselves to think we can act independently of everyone else.
It all starts with the relationship wit ourselves. For a very long time I did not understand that to create better relationships with people around me, this is not done by working on those relationships more, but by working more on the relationship with myself, bringing more love towards myself in all kinds of ways.
The power of changing our behaviours is huge. It is by setting these consistent foundations that we can get a sense of what it is to live in joy – celebrating who we are and others.
“It’s our relationship with self-love, and the level of care with which we handle ourselves and move our bodies, that allows us to naturally be this way with others without the need to try” – agreed, and it is our relationship with self-love that eventually folds us back into being the love that we are. Deeper and deeper we go.
I have experienced the more I love and care for myself the more loving all my relationships in my life become so definitely a ripple affect.
The deeper we go in our relationship with ourselves, the deeper we go in our relationship with life. Deeper and deeper we go until we are completely re-immersed back into Life and the Oneness that we are from.
‘Who would have thought that relationships and their ripples would have such a profound impact on life, everywhere?’ Life everywhere is one big relationship and so there is no-thing anywhere that does not have an effect on life.
Forget the ripple effect, and I do understand what you are sharing Amina, but bring on the tsunami of love, and that we all get behind those who come from the living love of those who stand for the truth.
Hah! I love it Greg. At any point we can keep opening the gates wider to let the love and expression in, that has no limits. Tsunami indeed 🙂
Awesome Richard, building loving relationships in our life is so important. I am much more willing to take responsibility in my relationships and I am willing to expose areas in my relationships where I tend to dish out judgement and seeking blame than ever before. It is a constant drain to go into blame or judgement and being willing to expose them and bring more love into our life is very much needed and this has been a revelation in my life too.
Sometimes we do not want to look at how our behaviour is affecting those around us, and we dismiss it by making excuses or by justifying the behaviour, but ultimately there is no get out clause. At some point, we will have to wake up and realise that we do not get away with anything, not even a bad mood.
” living with a deeper level of self-worth, respect and gentleness with myself, I have then been able to bring those qualities to all others and begin to build more intimate relationships all round. ”
This is very practical and makes a lot of sense, thank you for sharing.
This is huge what you are sharing here Amina. Those moments where we do not like looking at our reflection in the mirror are also marked by a distinctive closing of our heart to others too. We do not like to see the real impact of the choices we make because then we can see there is no true benefit in choosing them whatsoever.
The quality of the relationship I have with myself definitely has a ripple effect on everyone around me and the quality of my relationships with them.
The foundation of every relationship is decency and respect. If we don’t accept other people for who they truly are there is no respect for the other. Often there will be control and other patterns to keep ourselves ‘safe’, but this doesn’t contribute to any relationship. I learned yesterday that when I can accept another the need to control goes.
How often do we make it about the other person when things don’t seem great? It is such a wise and empowering reminder to keep deepening the level of self care and self love with which we live as a foundation, letting that be the ripple effects that touches every aspect of life.
True that – understanding that our relationship is within, with ourselves first, will indeed be very supportive of all our relationships with others. As when we fall or feel something : hurt, pain, uncomfortable feeling or any other thing, we have a basis to fall back on. And allow us to feel and observe from our forever growing foundation.
The ripple that all my relationships have, the way we talk to one or another person is quite amazing, the fact that if we make the connection and true relationships then the product or what comes out of that relationship is inspiring for everyone else. From the simple exercise of connecting with and appreciating another to our most intimate of one-on-one relationship and marriage.
What I find to bring my all is to fully own and to claim the space to which I live in no matter if I am the leading Light or the leading support. Every moment is about moving to the quality of committing to go deeper or confirming what space I have already claimed.
We can never underestimate the power of the ripple effect we have on everyone and everything, however we are living. And when we fully understand this, we start to appreciate the level of responsibility we have to live a life of true integrity.
A beautiful and inspiring sharing Amina… it is so true that how we are with ourselves is how we will be with all others.
“We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has” I would love to see this in everyone’s job description – can you imagine how much our work places could change if we regularly checked in with ourselves and in that consider everyone else.
What a great call, Amina, for us to step into greater responsibility in all of our relationships…thank you.
There is something that cannot be underestimated in simply being able to reflect to others the ability to start each cycle of a day, free of the last – we can become so bogged down and stuck in the past, or possibly in fears for the future, rather than being in the moment and just being us.
I’ve noticed that I can quite easily get affected by someone else’s mood/actions, and it’s taught me to look at my picture of how my relationships should look like and how ‘close friends’ should behave… shedding the pictures one step at a time.
“And so to the ripple effects…” when we start becoming aware of the ripples that we make from our choices, and the way we relate to others, we start to live life in an awareness that leads to living and relating responsibly. The fact that we’re not aware of our ripples, or remain conveniently blind to them and their effects, is how come the world is how it is today – hugely, massively irresponsible. Becoming aware of the ripple effects puts a stop to such devastating quality to change the world as we know it.
I have had this experience of someone standing beside me and their quality was so strong I felt pure grace and that was enough to stop me in my tracks. Very powerful.
A bit like ‘what goes up must come down’, what goes out must come back. As we send our ripples out, the bounce back does return to us in the quality we sent it in. It is therefore wise to consider our quality of communication and movement in all aspects of life.
It’s amazing how accurately our movements mirror whatever is going on for us on the inside… Or could it be that how we move then allows the thoughts, emotions OR feeling and clarity into our head and body?
It’s great to think of life in this watery way. It shows how absurd our traditional way of thinking about relationships is. You could get one drop of water and have it give something to another one, and no drop could be more special. But every one will be effected by the vibration that passes through. And so it is with me and you – thank you Amina for this consciousness breaking blog.
‘It’s our relationship with self-love, and the level of care with which we handle ourselves and move our bodies, that allows us to naturally be this way with others without the need to try.’ Whenever I make the choice to move gently and with presence the deepening quality I feel is palpably confirming. There is a deeper sense of connection with the body, a pause that is space filled and, moreover, a deeper sense of self-appreciation.
The reason the ripple effect is so powerful is because we live in an ocean of energy and the way we move within this affects all who swim with us i.e. all of humanity. As there are only two source of energy to align to: all that is love (Soul) or, all that pulls away from and opposes this love (spirit), the ripples we create will either heal or harm others depending on which source of energy we align with that will then give us the quality of our subsequent movement through the ‘water’.
Amina I love it to know that all I do leave a ripple effect as it made me feel responsible for myself and others. You wrote: “We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has.” That seems to be a wonderful way to be more aware of how powerful we truly are and that we are able to choose in every moment in which quality we are going to live with ourselves and others. I am wondering if more people would live like this and the ripple effect that would have on our society.
Appreciating how my state of being has been created by the ripples I established the day or in the days before is super confirming of my innate power to effect change. Whether it’s positive or negative, by being willing to be honest about how my choices affect everything and everyone (which is pure science) I am building the connections and therefore relationships that will shape my day – one way or the other. Naturally, over time I have learned that it’s far more joyful to make wiser and healthier choices and the more and more I let myself feel this immense power, the less and less I want to make ill choices. No perfection though….and getting it wrong is great because it once again confirms my power to sabotage my own wellbeing. And feeling how that affects others can be devastating. The more I reclaim this power in me to make the true choices, the more I want to and I love the responsibility in that.
We do not like to see that we are where we are as a result of our choices, we prefer to blame circumstance, something outside of us rather than look at our part but it is the loooking at our choices that supports us to, deepen the relationship we have with ourselves which then effects all the relationships we have with others.
We live in an energetic world which means everything is connected although we may choose to think otherwise.
I have noticed when I release the tension in one part of my body, I can feel a release every where else. Also whilst driving or travelling in public transport I have noticed that reactive and bullying behaviour seems to be infectious as is caring and considerate behaviour. And of course all the ways mentioned here. Yes with every choice and every movements we make ripples that impact every aspect of life.
Just reading this blog is a very humbling stop moment for me. It feels completely different to ask myself what do I need right now compared to what do I need to get done right now. Both are important but when I just focus on what jobs need doing and not consider anything else that’s when I get tired and the ripple affect of that is most definitely felt in the home.
Gosh I know this one Aimee very well…I have really noticed that if I get caught up in things to be done and not having enough time etc then this really affects my relationships and the connection I have with my loved ones at home. When I make it about my relationships and connection first rather than things to be done then it feels very different and makes for a much happier and lighter home!
The ripple effects of moving through life with ease and grace cannot be underestimated.
If we align with love then there will be a flow to our movements. If will align with all that is not love, then our movements will carry a force.
And shows its enormous potential if we choose not to ignore but embrace the grandness that is available for us all to live.
Beautifully expressed Amina and well said. Something I too have learnt, as you say is that ‘What matters is how we treat, care for and respect ourselves, as this is what we are then able to bring to all our relationships with others.’ We then do not bring a neediness to others rather a lovingness – where we bring all of ourselves without wanting them to be anyway other than themselves equally so.
I agree with you David I have found that by taking my time to be with me as much as possible I actual can have very productive days with less tiredness at the end of the day. Completely different to how I used to live which was always trying to complete several tasks at once and often the details would not be correct.
Our relationship with others is a reflection of how our relationship is with ourselves. Everything we do has a ripple effect of harming or healing if we really understood this we would be so much more self loving with our choices knowing that others are feeling the effects what we are putting out.
Amina, the imagery of ripples to describe our movements give the reader a very good handle on the fact that the energy we send out or add in our sea of life are very powerful even though unseen. We often imagine that when we can’t see something it is not there. Yet we have discovered that our movements and expressions have a very potent impact upon our own bodies and the world around us, and we can either keep things disruptive and keep people out or we move in harmony and open up the space to let people in.
I found this a bit challenging to read today as I felt some resistance to feeling the truth of what is shared. There is an inherent responsibility for looking at how you live and for the ripples that you create from this way of live.
Yes, Sarah. It certainly brings us to the awareness that there is no off switch when we are choosing to be in relationships, and it calls us to be more responsible in every part of our day.
When you make life about this deep level of responsibility we could well find that most relationships are very dishonouring of each other as we are mostly not aware of when we take on things in the day or something is coming up for us. We call this ‘life’ because we see it as normal but what if there is another way, a way of responsibility that simply starts with caring for ourselves first?
Yes I too find that when I am in tension with myself, like when I have not looked after my own needs or when I have not been aware of how I am feeling and registering my responses to things, then this all builds up and in this lessens my quality and in this I am then also in tension in my relationships with others.
Just the other day I said to my partner ‘why not enjoy the quality that we live and no longer make life a struggle and or focus on what we could do ‘better’. Than our movements will change and the ripple effect will be one of joy full inspiration.
Beautiful reflections and observations Amina. Relationships are very powerful and as you said, we are always in relationship with every thing, starting with ourselves..
Ripples are easy to relate to I often share when teaching that whispering is like little ripples on a still pond they affect everyone. Even very little kids get it , we innately know how much we affect each other.
A beautiful example of how self-care, self-love and self-nurturing can have a huge impact on not only ourselves and our lives but how this ripples out to how we are with others. The other really beautiful thing that I find about this way of living is that there is never an end to what is on offer. There is always a deeper place that we can take ourselves and our living way.
There are some great points in this blog. The biggest one for me is that we are responsible (in a very positive way) by our choices, for how our day goes and how we affect everyone else. It is also an eye opener to consider that every person we are with is a relationship, so we take equal care with each person instead of ranking how much love, care or ‘effort’ we will put in with them.
Each moment leads to the next – how we are in the morning sets us up beautifully for the day as does how we take ourselves to bed set us up for the morning and how we are during the day affect our evening.
Equally how we are with ourselves affects how we are with all others, how we are with all others affects how we are with ourselves – everything is interconnected and it is all one life – no on and off switches. That actually makes everything very simple.
Yes it does make everything so simple Nicola. Also, the drain we tend to feel in life comes from trying to compartmentalise and control life by trying to switch it on and off. Once we live in simplicity, everything in life is then effortless as we allow love to flow through life undisturbed.
What a clear example with a very relevant question:
Take for example: ‘you wake up in the morning and you are still carrying something unresolved from the night before and maybe even the night before that. How do you think or feel your movements will be with yourself while you get ready in the morning?’
We are all connected, so every move I make effects others.
What I can feel from your words is how amazing and joyful all our relationship can be, but it will not happen without us having one amazing and joyful relationship with ourselves.
Life is always championed as being hard and difficult with anxiety, overwhelm and the fast pace being sold as the norm. This blog is a gentle reminder that the ripple only gets bigger when we put these patterns into the equation. We have a choice to make large, small ripples which either harmonise or harm?
The ripples are everywhere, not just with those we see on a daily basis.
Amina thank you for telling it how it is.
It is interesting just how hard we work at trying to make another feel better, when this is really never a ‘true’ feel better we can bring to another. There is however a joy we can live that naturally gets shared with another. A joy that all can choose, if they want, but not from us trying, only ever from our being our joy.
Life boils down to one relationship and that is the relationship between God and himself because in truth there is nobody else.
This is gorgeous to read and brings out into the open the truth of responsibility. It is never for another but always for how we are with ourselves. If we accept full responsibility for this we naturally exude to the world the responsibility we each have, that directly affects the rest of our world.
Unresolved issue of any kind leave us off centre and destabilised, no matter how fervently we might deny it. At the opportune moment they will emerge, loaded with everything that has been dammed up in addition to the frustration, disappointment or sadness that are now piggy backing atop the original incident. And thus, incomplete scenarios are a drain on our energy and vitality and they hold us captive in our own mind and body.
Wow Gabriele, amazing wisdom here and I shared your comment with a friend. What you’ve shared shows us how unresolved issues and hurts damage relationships on all levels. By holding onto our hurts, we simply create more hurts until we heal and let go.
The ripple effects of how we live and move are unseen but definitely not un-felt. They can be quite substantial ripples in all their subtleness.
This is great Amina, and may I add decency along with respect, with us learning to be gentle. A great place for any-one to start as you have shared and this will have a “ripple effect” not only on our-self but also all those whom we have a relationship with.
Relationships are the considered source of so much ill and problems in this world. Or are they? What about our own relationship with ourselves? Have you ever noticed when someone is feeling content and at ease within themselves how much easier, lighter and play-full they are to be with? This is definitely a science worth exploring.
Allowing ourselves to see beyond an action, choice or behaviour and observe the ripples that come from this, truly support in motivation of change to become more loving…. then watching the ripples come from a greater self-care is beautiful.
‘We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has.’ This is a great point, Amina, we tend to keep going and going thinking that the more we do we are being productive, but if we are not connected with our body, then the quality of everything we do is less.
Beautiful wisdom Amina, thank you for sharing ?
Thank you Amina for sharing so insightfully how our relationship with our self is the foundation of how we are in all our other relationships.
Being in a relationship without the need to try.. this is very beautiful, and how relationships naturally can be, when we give ourselves permission to let go, and be raw, honest and vulnerable- open to just being with what we’re feeling, without the need to feel differently.
Love the practicality you share here Amina to bring ourselves back to love through self-care and self-nurturing ways, as the foundation for all relationships to flourish from..
‘My life consisted of focussing on my work first and foremost, and so long as I was able to fit in everything I had to do, along with the ‘to do’ list I always had with me, then I was managing life. But because I was so exhausted there was a limit to the depth of quality I could bring to all areas of my life.’ Nowhere, apart from pages like these, do we discuss how we have prioritised function over quality. With our current rates of ill health, obesity, substance addiction (including caffeine and sugar), not to mention depression and other mental health issues it really is time we started to seriously engage with this topic as a whole.
Absolutely how we live definitely affects both ourselves and others around us and the most important relationship I would say is the one with ourselves, are we being honest with what we are feeling, are we overriding what we are feeling and are we willing to express what we feel and to really deeply love and care for ourselves. Also as you have shared if we are in anxiousness, frustration, sadness or anger, etc and do not stop to feel, resolve, heal and change this then the emotion will carry on with us in everything we do throughout our day …. week … month … year … lifetime!
The way we get up in the morning does impact ourselves and others. To realize this, and feel it makes us more responsible how I am living. Because I do know there is a different way for me to live, and for others to live and by knowing that I cannot avoid anymore saying that it is just the way it is.
What I’m learning is that when anything comes up in a relationship or doesn’t feel true/flowing, ALWAYS look at your own part to play, responsibility and track record of how you’ve been living recently FIRST. You can spend hours pointing fingers at another when it turns out there has been something huge you haven’t been expressing, or a quality you have dropped in how you live e.g. respect, love, care, understanding.
Yes agreed, Amina. The quality of our relationship with ourselves and level of self worth affects the way we breathe and move through life, and this is what others receive from us.
It is so important to be aware that everything we do does effect the all, the ripples we create are far reaching, so why not send out the positive if for no other reason that is what will eventually come back.
Your beautifully honest blog Amina had a gentle ripple effect on me. A reminder of how important it is to set a foundation in our lives: before going to bed, clearing what needs to be cleared and going to bed early. On waking, gently nurturing ourselves into the day and preparing for whatever work we do. And pauses during the day, to re-align, we often overlook these. The quality of relationship with self felt by everyone we meet.
“We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has” – agree Amina, to stop is to allow yourself the space of reflection in which to reach understanding. And it is through understanding we can let go to accept the whole of us, and also of another too to develop true relationship.
I have noticed that we do tend to have a belief or an attitude that we can be in a mood or emotion and that it somehow does not affect anyone else, however what you say here Amina feels very true to me that really everything we do does have a ripple effect on everything else around us.
For so long my picture of Responsibility has been one of owning a house, having a mortgage, paying bills, a car to maintain and insure, having a family to support & bring up – necessary and important aspects of life that were however all detached from myself. I can concur with all that Amina has shared, making the way i live and my relationship with myself my core responsibility offers a steady harmonious medicine that no-one should live without.
Amina, I can so relate to much of what you are sharing in this article, I have put work first and not myself and am now feeling that I need to look after myself more and be gentler with myself so great timing to read this article, I love this; ‘I decided to make my life simpler by making choices to go to bed early, wake up early, eat healthily, rest, swim, all with the awareness that I needed to be more gentle with myself.’
I noticed a pattern of how I would hold everything in, not expressing and building up reactions or things to be expressed in my day and then wait to express it all to someone in the evening, sometimes as they were going to bed. And yes, while there is something to be said of expressing ourselves and not taking it with us to sleep, there is also a consideration of how and when we do this. If I have stimulating conversation just before sleep, I find it disturbing. I have set a new no go area now for my bed – it is not a place to use my phone or computer or talk or even mull and obsess over the day, or think about the future, it is a place to support me and a place set up for me to feel safe and at ease to deeply surrender, and I can find time earlier in the evening or day to express when needed.
The first relationship is with ourselves. This is more commonly know these days but often interpreted as putting ourselves above others. It is the realisation that the quality that we hold ourselves in determines the quality that we hold others in that brings up the truth of this saying.
Beautifully put, Carolien and because it is the quality that we establish by building the relationship with ourselves first there is nothing ‘selfish’ about this.
It will certainly be a very long and tiring day if we wake up already feeling out of sorts from the day before, and probably not having slept well as a result. But not only will it be a challenge to us, but also to those around us as we will be rippling out how we are feeling in every moment. It all comes down to our responsibility as to what quality we move in, in this world.
You had me at “Relationships present an opportunity to evolve in one’s own relationship, along with all others equally” Recently I’ve been so focused on the other person that I’ve forgotten that where my focus needs to be is how I am with myself, because thats the quality I take to everyone else.
Starting the day and shining long before the sun gets its chance, is how I enjoy starting almost every day. Even if the sun is obscured by dark clouds when it arises, I continue to shine for everyone.
I love this Steve, I used to get up a lot earlier than I have been for some time now and I can really feel the difference. Now I don’t give myself as much time to get ready and it’s just another task to do before I get to work, instead of something to really enjoy and then take that with me to the next place.
We are all pebbles in the pond of energy in which we live and how each and every one of us lives adds to the turbulence or stillness of the pond.
My daughter often talks about how ‘splashy’ the swimming pool is when she has swimming lessons and how it upsets the stillness of the water. It makes no difference if we are seeing the splashes or not we are still adding to this pool if our movements are not in line with the universe.
‘We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has’. I was in a recent discussion with some-one and we were talking about how we can deepen the quality of our being in this moment to moment. Being aware of how we are moving, are we moving with our body, with our stillness or are we moving not fully present? Everything counts, and everything is clocked and yes everything has a ripple effect. When we deepen our quality, this is what is fed back to us.
Its not even restricted to the very obvious impact we have on others when we move with more space and more of ourselves. Somehow the day moves more smoothly, the universe itself responds to the ripples in ways that are almost impossible to understand…. and yet are very practically and really happening. The effects of living in a world of energy we are always in a pool of energy of our own choosing.
Whether I am on the receiving end or living in disconnection to myself through carrying out emotional behaviours I have a responsibility to either hold myself in love or change my movements to loving ones so I feel in connection to myself but whatever way is being asked of me it is the responsibility that I have towards myself that has a knock on effect around me and beyond.
There is definitely a ripple effect in everything we do in life as when I take a step back and observe life I can clearly see its movements. Many people are moved by the emotion of the day, be it the whether, what is on the news, issues at home or in the work place etc. so for me no scientific study is needed to prove the ripple effect exists. Therefore that what Amina is presenting in this blog is worth considering and to put into practice for each and everyone of us. I am wondering how life would look like if all people in the world would take their responsibility and live like that.
And if we start to realise and accept the ripple effects of our choices and behaviour we can begin to understand all the impacts of all the ripples out in the world from all of us and the importance to have a very steady standing for ourselves so that we are not simply flotsam and jetsam in amongst it all.
“We need to create stop moments in our day to really consider how we are truly living on a moment to moment basis and the effect that this has.” – I feel that you raised a really powerful and poignant point here Amina, because society as a whole is not only super exhausted and thus not able to see the ripple effects of their choices, but they are also wired on multiple stimulants like caffeine and sugar to keep them going, which makes it that much more difficult to take a stop moment as you suggested. That being said, I know for myself that there are many times when I have taken a moment to check in with my body and noticed just how far ‘out’ I had gotten (especially at work) and then took the steps to come back to breathing and moving my body with gentleness which changes everything.
Beautiful blog Amina, the ripple effects are huge, we cannot control how they work. It happens naturally and they show us how connected we all are. The ripple effects also remind us that we all have a responsibility with regards to how we express, how we feel, our intentions, actions and behaviours etc. I now know pretty much everything we do matters and affects everyone. We may not see or feel these ripples immediately but they are definitely present and are communicating further than our eyes can see.
Amni the ripples you talk about are a great way to look at life and really see the difference that our choices make, I know that sense of ‘being super busy’ and the difference it makes when we stop and take care of ourselves, making that part of our daily life. Then what I’ve also found is that I feel less busy but end up completing more things.
And the people around us feel the difference – and can’t help but respond to that.
Thank you for sharing Amita – this makes so much sense. How we are has a ripple effect on others and we have a choice in how we are. Full of joy or full of hurt. And then it is a case of people around us feeling this. So all in all – we play a much bigger role than we think, and we have a responsibility in how we are.
Beautiful practical blog Amina. Thank you!
Yes Lyndy, there is definitley beauty in the simplicity that making things very practical brings to life.
It’s common to find we forget these self-loving actions when a partner comes along. ‘Oh i’ll do it later’ we say. But your sharing Amina clearly emphasises just what a crucial role our self-nurturing plays in supporting everyone, not just ourselves.
Sometimes the focus shifts from ourselves to the other when a partner comes along. Like we forget about ourselves and make the other and the relationship more important, but this doesn’t work without the foundation of a connection to ourselves.