2/5/21
The Butterfly Effect
“It used to be thought that the events that changed the world were things like big bombs, maniac politicians, huge earthquakes, or vast population movements, but it has now been realized that this is a very old-fashioned view held by people totally out of touch with modern thought. The things that change the world, according to Chaos theory, are the tiny things.
A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian jungle, and subsequently a storm ravages half of Europe.”
Benjamin Franklin offered a poetic perspective in his variation of a proverb that’s been around since the 14th century long before the identification of the butterfly effect:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For want of a horse the rider was lost,
For want of a rider the battle was lost,
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
The lack of one horseshoe nail could be inconsequential, or it could indirectly cause the loss of a war. There is no way to predict which outcome will occur.
Hence, be wary of the small supposedly inconsequential bad habits, they may have repercussions far beyond our imagination.
As the saying goes, a small leak can sink the ship.
The same is true in the opposite too, a small good deed or habit may compound into good things you can even imagine.
Be aware of the Butterfly effect and stay blessed forever.