Part of our
hope lies in the fact that we believe good is contagious. There is a theory
called the butterfly effect. It posits that one small action can produce a
result that spawns another action, which in turn produces a further effect, and
so on. The saying is that if a butterfly flaps its
wings in the Amazon a dam
breaks in India.
The image
is that the butterfly flaps its wings, which moves an insect, which eats a
piece of fruit, which drops the seed in its droppings, which grow into a tree,
which falls and dams a stream, etc. It
goes on and on and on. –Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv.