Sweeping the courtyard is one of my early morning routines. Though, my hand sweeps lightly, sharp eakles of the broom rake through the concrete blocks.

Sometimes, little black garden ants rush over the path, holding tiny food particles like flags. Winged ants also there, wiggling between debris like fallen aircraft. Their wings may be broken or damaged. Too delicate to handle by a human hand.

Then I sweep around them.

Sometimes I do not notice them. Then the broom will sweep them away like nothing. Their food will be thrown out in one way, them in another way. Wings they have got only once a year may have gone or the little delicate body could have crushed under the sharp coconut palm fronds.

One simple movement can shatter their lives.

 We never feel or even see what happened to them. We are so big that they are nothing in our lives. Little ants also may not know how that happened to them.

However, if we stay alert, we could see many unconsidered lives around us and sufferings from our unconscious moves.

In my school, there was a teacher who enjoyed spreading nicknames. Some were very damaging. They stay like labels. Other students call those out loud in the streets. When the victim gets employed, they spread the nickname among their staff. That may be fun to the caller (the bully, I want to call them) however, is pretty damaging to the victim.

When someone acted unfairly, we unload our worry with their closest to pass the message. For example, if your sister-in-Law was unfair, you would reach your brother to unpack the issue. You are pointing out her faults. That builds up a hostile situation between them. Do you really want them to break up because she hurt you?

My elder sister used to sneak out my things or our parent’s and then bad-mouth about me with her family, to cut them off from the truth. They became very hostile to me, but I never gave out a word because she would be badly treated by her egoistic husband. Better to have a misunderstanding than my sister getting a divorce.      

Sometimes, people talk disapprovingly about some jobs. Specially in Asian countries, there is a caste system according to their inherited profession. People employed in cleaning, washing, pottery are considered low level. (I wonder, how those high-level professionals live without those daily essentials.) They were given surnames according to their profession to identify them. (A kind of legitimate social bullying!) I have seen how reluctant were the youth to declare their surnames. Some have changed those to denominate they were from the upper class. To go to such an extent, think how annoying it could be.  

Those are anecdotes from our daily lives. There are many we don't even consider damaging.

At home, one watch television in high volume while another struggles to concentrate on their studies or try to get some sleep.

Some roads are disgusting to walk, because of thrown out packages, food or sometimes bags of garbage.

Some honk horns so loud pedestrians jump out of their skins. Some so startled just stop in the middle of their walk.

We throw garbage into waterways, polluting water used by people downstream.

Rich countries send their plastics to landfills in underdeveloped countries, ending in the ocean as floating islands of polythene and plastic.

We eat and drink so much as there is no one to live after us. Rain forests are passed onto political supporters to cultivate those commercial crops we gulp down like crazy.

Extremists destroy civilizations wiping out ancient knowledge.

Politicians approve acts of their soft money suppliers inconsiderate of penalized citizens.

From a swept-out ant, we can go global, with sore repercussions at each step.

If we consider a bit about our presence in other people's lives, I think we can minimize at least a part of their sufferings?    

1 : We all have a gravity. It affects others

2 : Think before you act, because there are others.

Category:  Other People / Subcategory:  Your impact in others world

Tags: impact, actions, others, small lives, repercussions, me in your life