Verse Fifty-Four
Do you want to be a positive influence in the world?
First, get your own life in order. Ground yourself
in the single principle so that your behavior is
wholesome and effective. If you do that, you will earn
respect and be a powerful influence.
Your behavior influences others through a ripple
effect. A ripple effect works because everyone influences
everyone else. Powerful people are powerful influences.
If your life works, you influence your family.
If your family works, your family influences the community.
If your community works, your community influences the nation.
If your nation works, your nation influences the world.
If your world works, the ripple effect spreads throughout the cosmos.
Remember that your influence begins with you and
ripples outward. So be sure that your influence is both
potent and wholesome.
How do I know this works?
All growth spreads outward from a fertile and potent
nucleus. You are a nucleus.
~ John Heider rendition ~
I have very mixed feelings about Heider's rendition. On the positive side, I think he expresses the verse very well in terms of a methodology for how each of us can have a beneficial impact on the world around us. When we begin to realize that even the smallest of actions can achieve expansive results, it should cause each of us to take more time to concentrate on and be aware of what we do and say in each moment.
On the negative side, however, I disagree with the first clause of each of the sentences in paragraph 3. Whether our lives "work" or not, we still influence all the elements he lists. You or I could be a complete screw-up and we would still influence our family and, most likely, our community.
For me, the last two sentences of his rendition are the most important. A nucleus can be bad or good and, generally, is a mixture of both. No matter how hard we might try, we can't stop the ripple effect as it is an inherent part of life. Even the actions of a hermit will impact all the beings and entities in his locale. Since most of us aren't hermits -- though I often come close -- the impact of the ripples spreading outward from our center are magnified.
So, the question each of us must ask ourselves is: What kind of ripples do I want to create? The answer will provide us with one of the best clues as to which path each of us must follow.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
On the negative side, however, I disagree with the first clause of each of the sentences in paragraph 3. Whether our lives "work" or not, we still influence all the elements he lists. You or I could be a complete screw-up and we would still influence our family and, most likely, our community.
For me, the last two sentences of his rendition are the most important. A nucleus can be bad or good and, generally, is a mixture of both. No matter how hard we might try, we can't stop the ripple effect as it is an inherent part of life. Even the actions of a hermit will impact all the beings and entities in his locale. Since most of us aren't hermits -- though I often come close -- the impact of the ripples spreading outward from our center are magnified.
So, the question each of us must ask ourselves is: What kind of ripples do I want to create? The answer will provide us with one of the best clues as to which path each of us must follow.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
I think this appears in the Great Learning. In the Confucian formulation, it starts with the regulation of the self and then spreads outward. I think the idea of influence is supposed to be positive, reflecting harmony.
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