Years ago, my friend Frank said something that has stuck with me ever since: “The universe rewards action.”
I thought about this conversation recently when I was visiting a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at Biltmore House. I came across these words – “Iron rusts from disuse, water loses its purity from stagnation; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind”.
I used to think that the universe rewards action, meaning I had to be the catalyst for everything that happened in my world. But as I pondered this quote, I realized that it’s more about staying in the game and being a part of what’s going on. Stopping or becoming stagnant leads to death.
My dad had a saying that you can only coast when you’re going downhill. And that’s true when we’re trying to effect change. When we stop, we lose momentum. On occasion, there’s so much energy going out that we get exhausted. It is at those moments that we must remember that even small steps are worth it – they may seem insignificant now but your actions today will ripple into something great tomorrow.
This is your daily reminder that the universe doesn’t judge the size of our actions – it only cares that we’re moving forward. Go out and enjoy today knowing you’re not going to rust from disuse. You’re not going to lose your purity from stagnation, because you’re keeping your mind vigorous so you can bring your brilliance to the world around you.