Chaos Theory

A very small cause which escapes our notice 

determines a considerable effect that we cannot fail to see...

~ Poincaré (1903)

If you had asked me yesterday, what is the most important thing that I have ever done in my life, I’m not sure how I would have answered…  I was a literacy tutor for several years and I think I made a big difference in one student’s life in particular.  I think (I hope!) my ESL classes help my students – both through teaching them vocabulary and grammar, and through giving them encouragement and a safe environment to build their language skills and their confidence.  I think I am making the difference in the lives of two children right now – opening up a bit more of the world to them than their parents can afford to do – providing singing lessons, video game designing lessons, and – perhaps most important of all – being a constant in their lives, an adult who cares and spends time with them and pays attention to them. 

But recently an eFriend wrote to me and confided that a gift I had sent her several years ago – an out-of-the-blue, for-no-particular-reason, little friendship gift - made her postpone her plan to commit suicide.  And one postponement led to another – and eventually things got better in her life and she was able to put aside those plans. 

Wow!  Never in a million years would have I guessed that my small gesture might have such a large impact in someone’s life.  It’s both wonderful and (to be honest) a little bit scary at the same time… 

In recognition of this potential that each of us has, I am going to start my own, personal “Human Chaos Project.”  The idea is to do a better job sowing little seeds of kindness...  Realizing that many may only bloom briefly, but some will become those “small causes” that Poincaré described over one hundred years ago, capable of determining “a considerable effect.”

What’s the most important thing you've ever done in your life?  You may never know…