The Butterfly Effect

The link below is to a video that went viral.  It’s an example of a simple act of kindness and the resulting domino affect it caused.  A social example of The Butterfly Effect if you will.

In case you’re not aware of this term, it’s anchored in the “suggestion that a massive storm might have its roots in the faraway flapping of a tiny butterfly’s wings”.  In other words, “the phenomenon whereby a small localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere”.

There are many facets to this story that make it so much more than a child being picked up and held.  A very significant dynamic is demonstrated in the Mother’s reaction to the Professor’s gesture.  She ended up in tears.  Why?  Well, she’s a single Mom who is conscientiously raising a toddler while at the same time going to school so that she can contribute to her child’s current life situation and his future.  She’s is dependent on the help of others in order to simply stay afloat and remain on course to achieve her goals without going under psychologically, physically and emotionally.  Her stress level was very high when faced with having no child care available and having to make the decision to bring her child to class with her.  This I’m sure, was compounded when the child became “fidgety” during the three hour lesson.  Enter the Professor.  He acknowledged the situation with compassion by reassuring the Mother that, “he’s a toddler.  If he wants to get up and walk around, let him”.  The Professor had no real idea of the level of internal stress the Mother was feeling other than maybe his own experience with a similar situation in his life.  But he certainly didn’t know the details of the Mother’s day and life circumstances, all of which contributed to her current, fragile emotional and psychological state.  It was with this simple act of lifting her child up and holding him while he taught, that demonstrated to her that she and her child mattered.  That, with this demonstration of kindness and compassion, they were valued.  This was the small crack that caused the dam to break and with it, create a flood of all the tension that she had been holding inside of her.  A simple act of kindness in this case, created a “Butterfly Effect” in the life of this young Mother and subsequently in the world.  This demonstration of compassion was given by the Professor without knowledge of the Mother’s life circumstances, and yet created an enormous ripple effect that reached deeply and meaningfully into her life.

We can’t possibly know the lifelong or situational health of everyone we meet.  We can’t know the trials that they may have faced five minutes ago let alone in their lifetime.  We can know, if only by this example, that we can indeed positively and profoundly affect another person’s state of well being by taking even a small step to acknowledge that they matter and are valued.  The Professor simply bent down, picked up and held a child.  The story of this act and its subsequent outcome went viral around the world.  Though an act of kindness given by you to another person may not achieve such global attention, please know that your gesture may indeed cause a Butterfly Effect in the life of the person that it’s given to and cause it go “viral” in their world.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/09/24/professor-child-class-single-mom-pkg.wkrn