When One Tugs – updated 2018
We all know about the ‘butterfly effect’, right? A butterfly flaps its wings in Japan and eventually a storm is manifested around the far side of the globe. It’s a provocative way of saying everything, no matter how small, is connected and important.
But what about people? What happens when you purposely or inadvertently unravel a human being? What happens when you denigrate your son or daughter by making fun of them, or dismissing them? What happens when you trash someone else while they are watching and listening to you?
I have an acquaintance who grew frustrated with his young son’s inability to behave as he would have liked. He was a good father, wanting the best for his son. But his own history, his own impatience caused him to turn to sarcasm and put downs. Luckily that changed as the years have gone by and son and father are much better in their interactions now. But it did worry me back then, what sort of unraveling might be taking place.
Life is filled with those little unravelings at every turn. They have an effect far down the road, in our lives and in the lives of those who come after us. How do we minimize the unraveling, how do we repair it?
One of my favorite songs is ‘Love is the only house big enough for all the pain in the world’ by Martina McBride. It’s simplistic of course, but all truth eventually is. And the truth is that deep, insightful, patient, compassionate, mature and intelligent love are the knitting needles you need to repair and restore the unraveling you see, in yourself and others.
Drawing and commentary © Marty Coleman
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world.” – John Muir, 1838-1914, Scottish born American naturist and writer
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A new blog, A Place for Thoughts, graciously published my Napkin Story on Saturday. It’s the same story you may have read here on the ‘beginnings’ page. But if you haven’t read how I got started drawing napkins, go check it out, ok?
