It has been said by persons much wiser than me that each of our actions reverberates outward and touches everyone and everything some 35 persons and settings removed from us. That is a profound thought, much more so if we could observe the ripples, the collisions, and the effects. It would make each of us a towering force for good, or not. Just for the fun of it, let’s assume it’s true . What then might the world look like as we make our way through it? Are we builders or plunderers? Makers or shakers? Paragons of wisdom, or wrecking balls of disaster?

It all accords with the Big Bang theory, with Yin and Yang, and with Karma. Every particle of matter now traveling toward infinity has already made countless numbers of collisions, with many more to come. Opposing forces would see their counterparts coming at them at every turn. And Karma would insist that the Good must have the upper hand just to stay slightly ahead of evil and in control.

One thing is certain, this expanded point of view should change how we see our importance in this world and in the universe. It causes me to rethink the old expression, “Very few of us can ever change the world, but each of us can change ourselves.” That statement is now much too small for me. I know I can do both. Now that is an empowering thought! What’s more, my thoughts, my voice, and my actions are too important for me to stand idly by while some yahoo blithers and blathers his way to making a dung heap out of all that I hold dear. I am persuaded to be a leader, knowing there’s not much the yahoo’s can do about it.

It would always be so much wiser to send out positive actions and messages instead of just complaining while those with wrecking balls are out and about trying to bring us all down. But we would still need to divide up the work among the defenders and the doers. Karma is our friend, but she doesn’t hand out freebies.

OK, let’s reel in the conversation. It boils down to this: No matter how dire or hopeless our situation may appear to be, we need to think bigger, to speak with more authority, and to rely on the power of our actions to get us through the present mess. Every tyrant and every destroyer who ever lived was no match for the forces of honor, decency, and justice as far back as we care to look. It also brings to mind another old axiom that has even more relevancy in our new magnified impact zones: In order for evil to triumph, it is only necessary that persons of good will do nothing,

One more thing: Listen to your own conscience. Avoid holy books, self-absorbed clerics, ideologues, and other snake oil salesmen at all costs. They know neither the truth nor the general pathway to that elusive end. You are your own sounding board, you are the power of one, the epicenter for new beginnings, and even more than that: You have the mightiest instrument of all time. You have the whistle—blow it and change the world!