In a circle of a hoop

…And we are all connected to each other
In a circle of a hoop that never ends…
Lyrics from a old favorite song of mine, which never fails to uplift my spirits….

What got me started on this topic was a sentence I read my life could be, in someway, linked to the random guy on the street. And this in turn lead me to think of the concept of six degrees of separation. Essentially, that we are all connected to each other, or apart from each other by just six people in between us. Fascinating. But if you think about it, very probable. Now as fascinating as this may seem to me in theory, it’s the ramifications of this that makes me wonder…

An action, a reaction or a non-action of yours/ mine, could potentially have an effect on that random guy on the street, or a pygmy in Ethiopia. Or closer to home, on someone you never imagined would be connected to the situation in the first place. Call it the “butterfly effect” of a sort (I learnt a new phrase recently), or a “chain of events” which was beautifully depicted in the movie “Teen deewarein”, it makes one conscious of the power one wields in the scheme of things… A spoken word, a withheld phrase or a shove on the road, may ultimately make its way to an unintended recipient and cause havoc in his/her life.

So the next time I decide to speak up for the heck of it with no intent or justification, ill think twice. Maybe the pygmy in Africa may have a better life…