Butterflies have been on my mind lately. Yup – butterflies. Yesterday, a friend of mine sent me a short video clip of a really cool looking caterpillar chomping on a leaf in their backyard. I started thinking about the amazing transformation that little guy will go through over the course of the next several weeks – caterpillar to cocoon to a butterfly. What the??!?!? How does a change like that even begin to occur. I also thought about the migration of monarch butterflies, where each fall, millions of butterflies leave their summer homes in the northeastern U.S. and Canada and travel upwards of 3,000 miles to reach their winter havens in southwestern Mexico. Again…what the?!?!?! How do they know where to go every fall? Heck, I have hard time figuring out how to get someplace in downtown Minneapolis.
Anyway, this led me to the concept of the “butterfly effect”. Maybe you’ve heard of it – they even made a movie about it staring Ashton Kutcher. Pretty good flick – you should check it out. The Butterfly Effect is based on a scientific theory that suggests that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe. The term goes back to the theoretical example of a hurricane’s formation being dependent on whether or not a butterfly had flapped its wings weeks earlier.
C’mon…really? Something so simple as a butterfly flapping its wings, creating enough change and power in our environment to result in something as powerful as a hurricane? Really? But, when you think about it, the same can be said for our actions. The moments that we show true and genuine gratitude, even the smallest act, can have true power…power to change the world in ways that extend far beyond our imagination and in ways that we may never even see or realize. Consider the impact of a simple thank you to someone who holds the door for you, a note of thanks to a fellow employee, a phone call to a friend with whom you’ve not spoken with for years simply to tell them that you appreciate them, or even a something as simple as a smile (check out this amazing research by Shawn Achor on the ripple effect of a simple smile – it’s pretty incredible). These examples remind me of a quote I saw some time ago – “be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about”. These simple acts of gratitude can be game changers…these are things that can start that ripple…something that costs nothing, but may be priceless for someone else.
So many acts of gratitude are incredibly simple, yet, they carry incredible power…the power to (even though it’s cliche) quite literally, change the world. And even if it’s not some massive world-altering result, those acts can at least be the start of that change just like that butterfly flapping its wings and creating change in our weather patterns. If you want to see positive change in the world, bring it yourself. Practice gratitude. Make it a habit. Let it become an unconscious behavior and let your acts of gratitude be the spark that ignite a series of change that will continue to evolve and ripple into bigger and bigger change…that can eventually…well…change the world.
Ok…now, back to figuring out how that little caterpillar can actually change into a freakin’ butterfly!!!
Absolutely amazing!! I read the first few sentences (I don’t usually even read blogs) and I just couldn’t stop reading. I wish you had written more! So good, so meaningful.
Thank you! You put a smile on my face and words of wisdom in my mind and heart ❤️
Thank you Marianne. Such nice comments. It was fun writing it. I’ve found a new fondness for butterflies.