Interlaced

Interlaced

“There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind.” Over time we usually come to realize how much effect we have on each other. Every word you speak and muscle you move has the potential to affect someone mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. Through this, it becomes apparent that most, if not all people in the world are connected. From the quote above, we can learn that we should recognize the importance of considering our acts before we commit them, rather than acting instinctively or without consideration.

                Our interconnection is the effect of several things. The first being that we live in a world in which we all usually interact with many people on a daily basis. While we may not realize it, almost everything we do is interpreted by anyone observing. This can be anything, including actions, body language, and verbal language. This can affect observers in many different ways, which is why it is so important to consider what you do when other people are around.

                I recently read a book labeled The Five People You Meet in Heaven. In this book, a man named Eddie dies and goes to heaven. There, he meets five people who he has either been heavily influenced by, or has drastically affected in his life. Two of those five people Eddie has never truly known in his time on Earth, yet he had heavily affected their lives. The first of the two was a man with blue skin, referred to simply as ‘The Blue Man’. Eddie had never really known or talked to this man prior to his time in heaven. At one point, Eddie, as a kid, ran into a street to fetch a ball thrown by him and his friends. A car was coming towards Eddie, with the blue man in front of the wheel. Somehow the man managed to avoid crashing into Eddie, swerving out of the way and regaining control. Because of this, the man became distressed and experienced an increased heart rate. This, combined with the fact that he had a ‘weak heart’, led to him losing consciousness while driving, eventually crashing into a truck and later dying as an effect of Eddie’s carelessness. This emphasizes how significant the effect of your actions may be. The second of the two was a young girl who died as Eddie tried to save her. To give more context, during Eddie’s time served in the army, presumably during World War 2, after escaping a long term captivity from four enemy soldiers, Eddie’s unit decided to set fire to the place they were held captive in. As the fires blazed, Eddie saw a shadow he believed to be a human running into the flames. He ran to save whoever was there, even attacking a fellow unit member to get there. As he searched, he was shot in the leg by his captain so that he could be saved, which later caused major difficulties in his life. In heaven, Eddie discovers that the shadow he saw was a little girl running to safety, quickly dying in the fire. This also emphasizes how we can affect people we don’t know in ways we don’t even realize, and the same can happen to us.

                As shown in these examples, it is important that we consider our actions and make the right choices. Our actions have a significant effect on others, and others’ actions have a great effect on us. We should remember to have empathy and act accordingly as it can prevent a multitude of undesired consequences.