The butterfly effect. Does it affect you?

Sinead Templeman asks some personal questions about Chaos Theory and you.  

The world around us is ever changing and the people in it are too.

We ourselves change day by day, but can we always see what it is or who it was that ignited this new point of view or the change of heart?

We have all had experiences in which small events, insignificant decisions or even a passing word seems to have had a profound and potentially life changing affect on us.

That comment at a party, said in jest that actually touched a nerve. Learning that the grumpy colleague you sit next is going through a divorce and is hurting badly. Saying yes to that dinner party instead of no, which lead to a chance meeting with a future friend for life.

We may often wonder about how things might have turned out if only we’d done this or that differently, or if I had only been more courageous, or smart or outgoing and how many things have had an impact on us that we were completely unaware of?

This way of thinking is wrapped up in the theory behind the butterfly effect, which is called Chaos Theory. This is the idea that all systems depend on each other and very small events can cause very complex changes, and the idea is known as ‘sensitive dependence on initial conditions’.

We are each of us a life system and depend on one another and the living systems around us, and can in turn affect the lives of everyone we meet, and the lives of some we don’t. How can we use this understanding of chaos theory for our benefit and for the benefit of others?

If the wings of a butterfly can, by making tiny changes in the atmosphere, alter the path of a tornado - how much more can you do? The difference between someone holding the door open for you or letting it slam back in front of you can have a profound effect on your mood for that day. The difference between someone saying thank you and saying nothing at all when you’ve tried to help can be the difference between you taking the time to help the next time around or not.

You can make a significant impact on this earth and to those that inhabit it, just you with no help from anyone else. That seems hard to do, if you aim too high or are defeated at the mere thought of it. Imagine though, that you decide that today you will go the extra mile at work, send those thank you notes you’ve mean meaning to write, call up that friend your losing touch with, open the door for the man without a smile on his face or a thank you on his lips.

Each of these actions and even smaller ones besides can have repercussions far beyond your knowing and may make a full circle around the earth so that one day you reap the benefits.