Dedicated in thanks and appreciation to Dan Neece and Deborah Divine who have made so many positive ripples in the lives of students at Enterprise High School for the past 30 years.
Living life is about ripples. No, not the libation but about the ripples we make in life.
One of the comments I received on my last publication reminded me that as we touch lives, they, in turn, touch lives with the information and energy we gave them … I see that as “ripples.” What bit of energy (information, knowledge, emotion) we expend, continues way beyond what might be in our control. That is something well worth remembering. Once we have dropped our pebble in the water of life, we have no control over how or where or why that information is disseminated. Once those ripples are formed and start spreading out over the water they are beyond our control. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether you are tossing clods of dirt or diamonds into the water they all make ripples.
I remember when my daughter was a young teenager, she came home all excited because she had taught her best friend some technique on the violin, and her friend had really ‘gotten” it. I don’t even remember what it was now, but I did say this to her: “J’Anna, that is your touch with immortality. Whatever information you gave her, she will use. More importantly, she will pass that information on to other people. She may not remember where that information came from and the people she shares that with may never know who you are, but long after you are gone from this world, that little nugget of information will continue to live.”
I also received a communication on FaceBook from a former student who said that as a result of her learning about and learning to love music in my class, her daughter is now in college working on being a music teacher. WOW, that means I’ll be touching lives way beyond the scope of my own existence.
Whew . . . that’s a bit of heavy stuff. Because, when you think about it, it is also true for negative things. Whatever you drop in the water, be it praise, knowledge, anger, frustration, celebration, … whatever it is, the energy continues to spreadripples out over the water of this life, touching others as it goes.
You know that old saying that once a bell is rung, it can never be un-rung. I believe that is so true no matter what pebbles we drop into the waters of life. Once words are said, once acts are committed, once attitudes are observed- these become part of the observer’s life and gone from our control.
Me thinks, it just might be a good idea to remember this when spouting off about one thing or another. Better make sure it’s a positively positive experience. And no, “I positively hate such and such” does not qualify!
Adrienne Jacoby is a 40-plus-year resident of Shasta County and native-born Californian. She was a teacher of vocal music in the Enterprise Schools for 27 years and has been retired for 11 years.
A musician all her life, she was married to the late Bill Jacoby with whom she formed a locally well -known musical group who prided themselves in playing for weddings, wakes, riots, bar mitzvas and super market openings. And, oh yes . . . she has two children, J’Anna and Jayson.
