Consequences

Gratitude 5/11/2026

I am grateful for the gift of a new day.
My heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings I have.
I will appreciate the small joys and express my thanks in all circumstances.
Let my attitude of gratitude bring joy to others.

I am so grateful that so many people recognize there are consequences for our actions.

Cause and effect is a concept that I recognized that many students have trouble understanding. It is a concept that appears in all forms of literature and also science and social studies. In literature when something happens, other things happen as a result. Entire stories can be about this one relationship. In science it is Newton's Third Law of Motion that states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It happens every day in life, almost every moment.

There are positive, negative, and seemingly neutral consquences to everything I do. If I place a glass at the edge of a table, it might fall and break. If I don’t fix the toilet and it keeps running, my water bill will be really high. If I do the laundry, I will have clean clothes to wear. I call a friend who is suffering a loss, it may lift her spirits. If I plant a tree, it will grow.

I had students who did not worry about negative consequences. Or maybe they wanted the attention of seeing what would happen if they didn’t turn in their homework, or if they erupted with anger and started a fight on the playground.

There are people who are physically beautiful or athletically talented, gifted in some way, or really wealthy or very charasmatic who not worry about consequences. Even if they screw up, hurt other people, lie or cheat, their sins have always been ignored or excused. No one ever seems to say no to them.

I was a kid who NEVER wanted to get into trouble. I obeyed the rules and kept a low profile. I did well in school and got along with most kids, or I avoided those who would bully me. I wanted what my family and culture wanted for me, to graduate from school, fall in love, get married, and have children. I got credentialed to be a teacher and then explored education in in early cable tv and publishing. I didn’t cause my parents too much heartache. I tried to honor my parents and grandparents.

It seems to me the people who recognize there are consequences are the ones who make the human world go round for everyone. Our life here in Earth is for ALL of us to enjoy, not just for a few of us.

I’m grateful that so many recognize that their actions have consequences and put their energy into actions that will result in positive consquences.