This week at the Carrot Ranch, Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about life as a river of consciousness. Think about the possibilities of the prompt. Go where the prompt leads!

The 99-word responses to Charli’s prompt will be collected and gifted to Sue Vincent on 17 February. So, if you would like your writing to be included in that collection, please pop over to the Carrot Ranch for more information and to submit your response using the form.

The Sue Vincent Rodeo Classic flash fiction contest is now also live. You can find out more about it here. With a very attractive $100 first prize and one of Sue’s books for each of five runners up, it is worth entering.

When I read Charli’s prompt, I immediately thought of the ripple effect of our lives, the effects that occur while we are on this Earth and those that continue long after through our children and our children’s children, and through lives we have touched from near or far, like a river of consciousness that flows through humanity from beginning to end.

I cannot think of the ripple effect without thinking of a wonderful book written by learning futurist Tony Ryan. The Ripple Effect was first published over twenty years ago and is still just as relevant and available today. It is filled with stories that show the difference that even the simplest of actions can make each day. The contribution that Tony’s book has had on lives in those 20+ years must be immeasurable.

I have previously written about Tony and his book in Ripples Through Time, Add a Sprinkle of Glitter to Make Your Day Sparkle and @aussietony’s 20 gift suggestions for life-long learning. In 3 Inspiring Educators, I nominated Tony as one of those being a positive influence upon my work as an educator.

In response to Charli’s prompt, I had three main thoughts:

1. The ripple effect as in the day to day ripples we create for ourselves and others with our thoughts, words and actions.
2. The thought that every molecule of water is recycled over time and through all generations of plants and animals, including humans (my interpretation of an idea shared by Deepak Chopra in a seminar I attended many years ago).
3. The ripples that are passed down through time from one generation to the next and beyond. This can sometimes be seen in families that generate function or disfunction over time. I was recently reminded of this phenomenon by Alfie Kohn in his book Unconditional Parenting.

These thoughts combine into one: that, whether we think about it or not, what we do in the here and now has effects of which we may never know.

Here is my response to Charli’s prompt. I hope you enjoy it.

The Ripples of Life

The stone made a mini fountain where it plunged into the water. The boy and the man watched the ripples spread. The boy’s eyes filled with wonder, the man’s with life’s wisdom.

“Where do the ripples go?” asked the boy.

“Everywhere,” said the man. “Even when we no longer see them, their effects go on. Like that stone, we make a splash in our family when we arrive. Our circles grow as we grow. Our lives touch more and more. We may never know the effects, but they are there, rippling through the world, flowing forever in the river of life.”

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.