Choosing love and kindness highlights the ripple effect of our actions.
The content reflects on the ripple effect of our actions, emphasizing the importance of choosing love and kindness, as mentioned in the Golden Rule. The poet shares her experiences to illustrate the impact of such choices, highlighting the contrast between love and cruelty. The poem emphasizes the significance of respecting and loving others.
This poem reflects on the challenge I faced in following the Golden Rule, found in the Bible in Matthew Chapter 7 verse 12, ‘Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.’ This concept is easy to follow when treated with respect and kindness. But it is tested when you are on the receiving end of the opposite behaviour.
I wrote this poem after I had been robbed of valuable possessions. It was the few treasured possessions, that were of no value to the thief but of great value to me, that hurt the most. It took many months before I could move on from the anger and pain of loss that raged inside of me. I’ve learnt to accept that time is needed to process difficulties and as we work through them, not to feel guilty about the time it takes to process the negative feelings that bubble up from inside. But to let them come up and out. The damage occurs when we hold on to them and they fester within, turning anger into bitterness.
I wrote poems The Thief and Choose to Forgive following this incident to help me process, and eventually move on from the emotions of loss and the invasion of privacy that theft causes. I am grateful for the loving and kind family and friends who emulate the qualities in this poem. Beverley Joy
Listen HERE – Poem – Love’s Ripple Effect
To learn to love one another
Is God’s grand command in life
Our human spirit is made to love
And it’s learned one deed at a time.
Each day is full of opportunity
To show love toward others
We make a choice at each moment
To follow the Golden Rule of Life.
Each act is like throwing a pebble into the pond of our life
Each pebble that touches the water causes a ripple effect
Once the pebble is thrown, once the deed is done
The ripple effect will follow in kind; ripples of consequence.
Choosing an act of love and kindness
Causes ripples of the same kind
Choosing an act of hatred and cruelty
Causes ripples of the same kind!
Foolish choices of self-centredness
Disregarding another’s wellness
Cause our spirits to suffocate
For God hard-wired us to love.
We can miss the point and purpose of life
And choose NOT to ‘smell the roses’
Choose NOT to look in wonder and awe
At the beauty and splendour of our world.
Choose NOT to see and respect
The good things that come to us
Choose NOT to admire the unique qualities
In people in our life and our community.
True love respects and protects
Boundaries set by self and others
Reflecting God’s love for us
Which is the highest form of love.
Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry © 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Listen to or read The Thief poem.
You can listen to all my poems on several podcast platforms here
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation
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