Every Pebble

The character of a whole society is the cumulative result of the countless small actions, day in and day out, of millions of persons. Small changes that may seem unimportant in isolation are of transformative significance when adopted by an entire society.
~ from Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich by Duane Elgin ~

Who hasn't walked along the beach at the ocean or the side of a stream? You look down to see a variety of pebbles strewn near the water's edge. Say you pick one up and throw it skipping across the water. What difference does it make to remove one small pebble from a legion of pebbles?

While each pebble may seem inconsequential to you or me, each has its place in the overall cosmos. Each serves a purpose. We may not be able to comprehend it, but it exists for a reason.

WE -- each one of us -- is a pebble in the mass of humanity. Our individual lives may appear to affect nothing except those beings and relationships in our immediate wake, but we have no way of knowing how far and wide our actions and words travel. Consequently, our every word and deed could be the start of a tidal wave.

So, in this vein, the question we each need to ask ourselves is: Do we want to take the chance that our words and actions turn into a tsunami that crushes others in its path?