Ripple Effect
Tina Gilson
October 09, 2025
I recently saw a post online from one of my state senators offering information regarding help for people who are currently struggling with the drought we are in, including resources for farmers who need water trucked in. There were no partisan comments in his post, just a simple statement of available resources for people who need them.
To most of us, this would seem like a positive thing. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I would hope we would all agree that providing resources for those in need is a good thing. Especially something as necessary to our lives as water. The comment section of this post, however, indicated otherwise. I was appalled at how many negative, hateful comments there were. The majority of which had nothing to do with the post itself.
It saddened me to see how many people just fed off each other's hateful comments instead of focusing on the good. While many may have been out of staters or just plain trolls, the fact that so many people thought being unnecessarily horrible on that post was acceptable was revolting.
The energy we expose ourselves to, and the energy we put out, will be magnified. It is important to focus on the kind of energy we want to feel in our lives and see in the world. As Mahatma Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.The more effort we put into being kind and treating others with respect, the better we all feel. The ripple effect is real.
If you have a garden and take care of it, it will flourish and do well. You will produce a bounty of vegetables, flowers, or whatever you are growing. If you do not give it proper care, love, and attention, it will become overgrown with weeds, full of bugs, and everything will die.
I am as fallible as the next person and have been very angry and reactionary at times. I have done a lot of shadow work to heal my trauma, so it is a less frequent behavior. I make a point to do and say kind things daily. A simple compliment to a stranger that lights their face up goes a long way. I enjoy making them happy, and their day just got better too. When we do good, we feel good. When we act like a jerk, it feels lousy.
I may still feel triggered and angry, but I try not to react and bite my tongue. If I'm writing a hostile comment on a post, I try to pause and then delete it. I also try very hard to be careful about what I watch online. The algorithm fills your feed with similar content based on even one video you watch. Focus on positive content, lighthearted content, topics you're interested in and things that feed your brain and soul instead of my righteous indignation.
We all have the ability to make things better. Let's do our part.
Sacred Spirit Wellness is located at The Healing Hive, 21 Barton Street in Bradford, VT. They can be reached via email at sacredspiritwellness1@gmail.com, on their Facebook page, or www.sacredspiritwellness.com.
To most of us, this would seem like a positive thing. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I would hope we would all agree that providing resources for those in need is a good thing. Especially something as necessary to our lives as water. The comment section of this post, however, indicated otherwise. I was appalled at how many negative, hateful comments there were. The majority of which had nothing to do with the post itself.
It saddened me to see how many people just fed off each other's hateful comments instead of focusing on the good. While many may have been out of staters or just plain trolls, the fact that so many people thought being unnecessarily horrible on that post was acceptable was revolting.
The energy we expose ourselves to, and the energy we put out, will be magnified. It is important to focus on the kind of energy we want to feel in our lives and see in the world. As Mahatma Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.The more effort we put into being kind and treating others with respect, the better we all feel. The ripple effect is real.
If you have a garden and take care of it, it will flourish and do well. You will produce a bounty of vegetables, flowers, or whatever you are growing. If you do not give it proper care, love, and attention, it will become overgrown with weeds, full of bugs, and everything will die.
I am as fallible as the next person and have been very angry and reactionary at times. I have done a lot of shadow work to heal my trauma, so it is a less frequent behavior. I make a point to do and say kind things daily. A simple compliment to a stranger that lights their face up goes a long way. I enjoy making them happy, and their day just got better too. When we do good, we feel good. When we act like a jerk, it feels lousy.
I may still feel triggered and angry, but I try not to react and bite my tongue. If I'm writing a hostile comment on a post, I try to pause and then delete it. I also try very hard to be careful about what I watch online. The algorithm fills your feed with similar content based on even one video you watch. Focus on positive content, lighthearted content, topics you're interested in and things that feed your brain and soul instead of my righteous indignation.
We all have the ability to make things better. Let's do our part.
Sacred Spirit Wellness is located at The Healing Hive, 21 Barton Street in Bradford, VT. They can be reached via email at sacredspiritwellness1@gmail.com, on their Facebook page, or www.sacredspiritwellness.com.
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