Consequences.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton was a smart man.
As I contemplate this law of motion, the simplicity becomes blurred. I translate the law's elements into the elements of my life and interpret it as something much more deep than physics.
The affect that human beings can have on each other is infinite.
People. You, me, him, her, mom, dad, friends, lovers, strangers, and enemies.
For every action or decision that a person makes, there an equal reaction on the people he or she surrounds themselves with. Have you ever heard someone say "the choices I make don't affect anyone but myself"? Usually those type of words come out of a younger, more immature person. I can bet you that an old wise man will never say those words. Why? Because he has lived and he has loved. He knows that humans interacting with humans make up this strange and phenomenal thing we call life. He knows that every action he has made, big or small, has had an impact on the people he has surrounded himself with. That is life. People bouncing and reacting off other people.
Then my thoughts turn to the closest relationships I have in my life. I think of the way others' decisions have influenced me. Bittersweet thoughts racing through my head. Others' mistakes and decisions have influenced me tremendously. Hurt sucks. But this I know: hurt can heal and love will prevail. Scars may form and never fully go away but powerful love can override this hurt. What the heck is love anyway? I feel like people (including myself at times) speak about love like it's this imaginary "air" that hazes through people and hypnotizes them, guiding them to another person who has the same "haze" encircling them. No, that is not love. The love I am talking about is hard-work kind of love. Love where someone makes a conscious decision to show affection or care to someone else and that someone else reacts to that conscious decision. This is not always easy. Love may not be the "convenient" or "easy" thing to do. Sometimes it may not give you instant satisfaction, but the long term value of true hard-work kind of love is priceless. Love is the action and reaction of two people. That's it, all actions and reactions.
I think I may be growing up. I imagine that girl just a few years ago. She was innocent, beautiful, and extremely naive. She watched Pride and Prejudice on nights when she didn't go out, dreaming about Mr. Darcy. She laughed with her best friend about the secret fruit names she had given to her crushes. She was positive and hopeful. She would write songs that would show people into her soul. She was an open book. I am not that girl anymore, but I am better for it. I really do mean that.
Love is not like a fairy tale. Fortunately, it is much deeper. It can be really, really hard sometimes, but the sweetest moments of love are sweeter than any fairy tale imaginable.
Innocence will never give you wisdom. People who have let me down or surprised me for the better give me a more realistic look on life. I am more guarded but wiser for the affects people have had on me. I am still positive and hopeful, but in a different way. Instead of attention, money, and beauty, my hopes and dreams revolve around people. Successful relationships with my husband, family, friends, and co-workers.
And these racing thoughts come full circle.
Newton was a very smart man.
