Adam Blatner

Action in this world generates resonances, somewhat like ripples spreading from a pebble dropped in a still pond. But there are billions of sentient life forms just on this planet, interacting ever more intimately. We have no idea of the echoes of our being—or as Krishna advises Arjuna in the teaching story of the Baghavad Gita (i.e., a classic of South Asian Indian ancient literature and a mini-epic within the larger epic of the Mahabarata): “Do not be attached to the fruits of your actions.”

This picture illustrates at the bottom many actions by a number of people and how they figuratively spiral “upward”—really all directions, inwards, outwards, etc.—generating echoes in many realms, interacting with each other like air currents near a tornado.

I’ve been on a journey into the depths of my ignorance, while sustaining some power to articulate this viewpoint. I am reassured that this is a proper contribution: We are profoundly unaware of the complexity of the Great Becoming. We can, however, do our thing in slightly better ways, and there are a million things we can do to make this a better world. Knowing this bigger picture comforts me: I sense we have a chance to do something good—and there’s always some kindness.